Before becoming disabled, Ms. X worked as a strategic project manager at Ashley Furniture Industries in Tampa, Florida. She earned more than $85,000 as her salary, and her career with the company was marked by her outstanding performance in her role. That all changed, however, when her disabling medical conditions forced her out of her role.
While Ms. X wanted nothing more than to regain her health and resume work to support her family, the debilitating symptoms of post-concussive syndrome, chronic migraines, neuropathy, and breast cancer are too great to overcome. Because of this, she is totally disabled.
Many years prior, Ms. X was involved in a motor vehicle accident. This incident left her with ongoing challenges with migraines, dizziness, and weakness that progressively worsened over time. Despite seeking treatment, she never improved.
Ms. X worked to support her family in the intervening years, navigating the challenges that persisted even as the car accident became an incident left far behind in her personal history. That said, Ms. X reached her limit in January 2022, when she could no longer meet the demands of her occupation. That’s when she left her job and sought disability benefits.
Battling with Breast Cancer
In addition to the post-concussive challenges Ms. X dealt with on a daily basis for many years, she is also a breast cancer patient. When she received her diagnosis, her focus shifted from managing her daily life around her disabilities to fighting for her life.
Within this challenging context, Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (Reliance) approved Ms. X’s claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits, only to revoke these benefits without warning or justification in May 2023. The termination of her benefits during this time was especially egregious considering the potentially life-or-death consequences of having access to financial resources during such a critical time.
Reliance Errored in Terminating Ms. X’s LTD Benefits
Ms. X reached out to Dabdoub Law Firm for help with her appeal to Reliance. In a letter to the company, we demanded that it make a reasonable decision to reverse its decision and renew Ms. X’s LTD benefits.
We contended that reliance established an unreasonable expectation that Ms. X would recover quickly from her battle with breast cancer and chronic migraines she’s suffered from for many years. As evidence that Reliance errored, we included excerpts from Ms. X’s migraine diary along with a letter authored by her physician, who notes that Ms. X’s conditions make it impossible to use computer screens, which disables her.
While Dabdoub Law Firm is always prepared to litigate on behalf of our clients, this was not necessary in Ms. X’s case. Reliance reversed its previous decision and renewed her LTD benefits.
Lawyers Specializing in Disability Insurance Claims
Because disability insurance law is complicated, it is important to get legal help from a lawyer who focuses on disability law. As a law firm built to focus on disability insurance, our lawyers specialize in disability insurance. We spend every day working to get our clients' long-term disability benefits approved.
Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, we do not have to be located in your state to help. If your claim for long-term disability benefits was denied or delayed by an insurance company, call us to speak with a disability insurance attorney.
We represent clients across the U.S. with:
- Submitting a disability insurance claim;
- Appealing a long-term disability denial;
- Negotiating a lump-sum settlement; and/or
- Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company.
Call (800) 969-0488 to schedule your free consultation with a disability attorney.
