Understanding the Role of a Long-Term Disability Attorney: Delay, Deny, Depose

When you’re faced with the life-altering challenge of a disability, navigating the insurance system to claim the benefits you are rightfully owed should be straightforward. Unfortunately, disability insurance companies often employ a frustrating trifecta of tactics: delaying claims, denying benefits, and hoping claimants will give up before taking action.

This pattern underscores the importance of working with an experienced long-term disability attorney to fight for your rights.

At Dabdoub Law Firm, we focus exclusively on helping disabled individuals secure long-term disability benefits from their insurance company. We are familiar with the common barriers claimants face when dealing with a long term disability claim and have developed specific strategies to tackle these barriers resulting in payment to our clients.

The Delay Tactics: Dragging Out the Process

One of the most common strategies disability insurance companies employ is delaying the claims process. This tactic is often used to frustrate claimants, creating financial strain and emotional exhaustion that can deter even the most determined individuals. Delays may come in various forms, such as:

• Repetitive Requests for Documentation: Insurers may ask for redundant medical records or additional proof of disability, even when sufficient evidence has already been provided.
• Prolonged Review Periods: Although the insurance company has a time frame to make a decision, they often take unnecessary and unjustified extensions leading to a delay of the claim or appeal decision.
• Ambiguous Communication: Conflicting, unclear, or even nonexistent updates about claim status add confusion and frustration leading to further delays.

By stalling, insurance companies count on claimants either making mistakes in their paperwork or simply giving up out of frustration. For individuals already coping with the stress of a disability, these tactics can feel insurmountable. It’s all part of a calculated strategy to delay and discourage, making legal intervention crucial.

Denying Benefits: The Next Barrier

If delays don’t succeed in deterring claimants, the next step for insurance companies is often to deny the claim outright. Denials are justified with various reasons, including:

• Lack of "Sufficient" Medical Evidence: Even when comprehensive documentation is submitted, insurers may argue that the evidence doesn’t conclusively prove disability. The company may also claim it recognizes you have a medical condition but it does not rise to the level of disability preventing you from working.
• Policy Exclusions: Some policies exclude coverage for certain conditions, and insurers will scrutinize claims to identify these exclusions.
• Pre-existing Conditions: A common excuse for denial is that the disability stems from a condition that existed before the policy’s effective date. If you file a long term disability insurance claim within the first 12 months of becoming covered under the policy, you will undergo a pre-existing condition review.
• Surveillance and Misinterpretation: Insurers may conduct in-person surveillance, social media and online surveillance or hire private investigators, then misinterpret or misrepresent claimants' activities to suggest they are not truly disabled or are not as limited as they claim to be.

These denials can feel like a dead end, but they don’t have to be. Our team of long term disability experts can expose the flaws in these arguments, challenging denials and reopening the path to benefits.

Deposing the Insurance Companies: Fighting Back

The legal team of experienced long-term disability attorneys at Dabdoub Law Firm specializes in holding insurance companies accountable for their delay and denial tactics. With a focused strategy, our attorneys ensure claimants’ voices are heard and their rights are protected.

How Dabdoub Law Firm Levels the Playing Field

1. Comprehensive Claim Reviews
   • Our attorneys meticulously review every aspect of a denied claim, from policy details to medical records, identifying areas where insurers have overstepped or erred.
2. Legal Expertise and Advocacy
   • Insurance policies are often filled with confusing legal jargon. Our team has deep expertise in interpreting policy terms and navigating the legal landscape to challenge unfair denials.
3. Litigation and Appeals
   • The appeal is the most important stage of a disability insurance claim. We work up our appeals to make them as strong as possible. When insurers refuse to pay, our lawyers are prepared to take the matter to court. Our attorneys have extensive experience with disability insurance lawsuits in federal and state court as well as the federal court of appeals.
4. National Reach
   • Dabdoub Law Firm helps clients across the United States. Our nationwide representation ensures that no matter where you are, you have access to top-tier representation.

By fighting back against insurance companies’ tactics, Dabdoub Law Firm stands up to these corporations and ensures they fulfill their obligations to policyholders.

Why Choose Dabdoub Law Firm?

Dabdoub Law Firm stands out for its singular focus: helping disabled individuals secure long-term disability benefits. Unlike general practice law firms, our attorneys dedicate all their time and energy to this area of law, making us uniquely equipped to handle even the most complex cases. We are experts in disability insurance law.

• Proven Results: The firm has a track record of recovering millions in disability benefits for clients.
• Client-Centered Approach: Our attorneys prioritize open communication and transparency, ensuring clients feel supported every step of the way.
• No Upfront Fees: We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning clients don’t pay unless benefits are recovered.

The "Delay, Deny, Depose" Cycle: A Systemic Issue

While insurance companies may claim to act in good faith, their consistent reliance on the "delay, deny, depose" cycle highlights systemic issues within the industry. These tactics aren’t just unfair—they’re harmful, particularly for individuals whose disabilities already create significant personal and financial challenges.

The key to breaking this cycle is legal expertise. By working with Dabdoub Law Firm, claimants can shift the balance of power in their favor. Our attorneys are skilled negotiators and litigators who understand how to dismantle the barriers insurers put in place.

Help from an Attorney with Expertise in Disability Insurance

Disability insurance law is complicated. If your claim for long term disability benefits was denied or being delayed by an insurance company, it is important to get help from a lawyer with expertise in disability law.

Why Us?

1. Our lawyers specialize in disability insurance;
2. Our lawyers have experience with UNUM, Hartford, CIGNA, Reliance Standard, and just about every other insurance company;
3. Our lawyers have won tough disability insurance lawsuits;
4. Our lawyers have recovered millions in disability benefits for clients who were wrongly denied.

Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, we do not have to be lo-cated in your state to help.

Dabdoub Law Firm represents clients nationwide with:

• Submitting a disability insurance claim;
• Appealing a long-term disability denial;
• Negotiating a lump-sum settlement; or
• Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company.

Call to speak with a disability insurance attorney. No fees are costs unless clients are paid.