ENT Physician Disability Insurance Attorneys
Helping ENT Physicians with Disability Claims Nationwide
Dabdoub Law Firm has a team of disability insurance and ERISA attorneys ready at all times to provide trusted legal services to ENT physicians across the nation. If you want to get long-term disability insurance benefits because you can’t work as an ENT physician anymore, but you’re worried about making a mistake during the process of filing a claim, we’re here to guide you through every step. You can also depend on us to file an appeal if your disability claim has been denied.
Talk to Dabdoub Law Firm about filing a disability insurance claim as an ENT physician. Call (800) 969-0488 for a FREE case consultation.
Do You Have LTD Insurance?
Many ENT physicians have individual long-term disability (LTD) insurance that was purchased as an “own occupation” disability policy. Under this policy coverage, part of your income should be protected if you suffer a disability that prevents you from continuing to work as an ENT physician. If you have an “own occupation” policy, you may even be able to begin work in another occupation that does not exacerbate your disability.
If you work for a healthcare group or are employed at a specific clinic as the on-staff ENT physician, you might also have employer-provided disability insurance coverage. The policy coverage would likely be similar to an “own occupation” policy, but it would be provided to you as an employment benefit, rather than having to pay for it directly yourself.
How Insurers Deny ENT Physician Disability Claims
In our decades of collective legal experience working on disability claims for medical professionals across the country, including ENT physician disability claims, we have seen many insurance companies look for virtually any reason possible to deny a claim. Oftentimes, insurance companies unfairly de-emphasize the importance of procedural-based components of an ENT physician’s occupation (like performing procedures that directly help patients) while over-emphasizing the clinical side of their work (like researching a patient’s illness to reach a diagnosis). Or the insurance company might unreasonably broaden the duties of the occupation, so it includes everything that happens in an ENT physician’s day, even tasks that are clearly not specific or important to that role. By doing so, the insurer hopes to argue that the claimant can “still continue to perform the majority of their occupational duties,” so the claim can be denied.
What the insurance company is failing to understand is that the occupation is not just defined by the ENT’s ability to diagnose a patient but also by the ENT’s ability to treat a patient through various procedures and methodologies.
Why are ENT Physician Disability Claims Denied?
You should not take it personally if an insurance company wants to deny your LTD insurance claim that you filed as an ENT physician. The most common reason behind a denied claim like yours is that the insurance company wants to save money. ENT physicians who have worked in the field for many years can earn $150,000 or more, with some reporting twice that amount in annual salaries. Insurance companies know as much, and they don’t want to provide disability coverage that pays even a portion of the average ENT’s salary.
How You Can Support Your Claim
Want to make it more difficult for an insurance company to deny your disability claim? Start by getting Dabdoub Law Firm by your side. Remember: We offer our legal counsel to ear-nose-throat doctors in all 50 states. Next, you can keep a few things in mind to give insurance more pause when trying to deny your claim for unjustified reasons.
As an ENT physician, you should do the following to counteract insurance company denial tactics:
- Keep records: Never underestimate the importance of well-kept medical records and archives. Your records should show the work you perform, so you can better explain how your disability interferes with that work.
- Use CPT codes: Insurance companies expect every medical practitioner to use CPT codes, including ENT physicians working out of small clinics. If an insurance investigator sees you haven’t used CPT codes, it will likely be the insurer’s starting point for its argument against your long-term disability claim.
- Beware undercover insurance agents: It might sound outlandish, but insurance companies often send undercover insurance investigators to act as new patients at the office of a policyholder who has filed a disability claim. The agent will try to look for anything that indicates the disability has been falsified or exaggerated. As an ENT physician, you should always review preliminary paperwork about a new patient, and always be truthful about your limitations. Don’t overdo it at work—that could worsen an injury and give the agent an opportunity to deny your claim!
Get Legal Help for Your Disability Claim
The disability claim process can be complicated, especially if the insurance company doesn’t want to honor it. Get help from start to finish by leaving everything up to the disability claim attorneys of Dabdoub Law Firm, serving ENT physicians nationwide. Whether you have an “own occupation” disability or have coverage through an employer, we’ll know how to handle and progress your claim as smoothly as possible. Our goal is to secure the benefits you need or an equivalent settlement without any unnecessary delays.
To speak with a disability insurance attorney serving your area, call (800) 969-0488 and request a free disability case consultation. Be sure to mention that you work as an ENT doctor, so we can get a head-start about what to expect from your case and the insurance company.