Hartford pays disability benefits for 12 years and then uses video surveillance to deny benefits
Our law firm was recently contacted by a woman that has been denied long-term disability benefits by Hartford. The claim is currently pending, but I asked if I could share her story so that others could learn about the real actions taken by disability companies such as Hartford. I strongly advise all disability claimants to never submit for a field interview without the presence of an attorney.
Hi Greg. YES you can share my story, if it helps only one other person out there it would make me happy. I worked for U.S. Bank for 25 years when I started being hospitalized with chronic asthma/copd, with stays lasting anywhere from 2 to 13 days. USB told me in 1996 I needed to go on Long term disability so I applied and got approved as of January 1997. First through UNUM and then two years later they switched to Hartford. Hartford made me file for Social Security Disability which I was awarded 2 years later. So Hartford has been paying me disability for 12 years. My main disability is the asthma/copd but because I am steroid dependent I also became obese, had cataracts removed from both eyes and now have diabetes with neuropathy in my feet and hands. I answered all of Hartford’s letters honestly, and then they video taped me behind my back, they tried 6 times but I only left the house for 3 of those instances. I was running errands, using bank machine and grocery shopping. Then of course I had the interview which I agreed to because I didn’t have anything to hide. Three hours of interrogation with Hartford, I was exhausted. Then 3 months later I got the denial letter. I couldn’t find an attorney to help me, so I wrote my own appeal letter. So yesterday I got a letter from Hartford telling me they are going to send me to an IME. Not trusting Hartford any longer I got on line and sent you a message. So I am very suspicious of why they are sending me to an IME when everyone I talked to told me they would deny me again. I think they are trying to get another “expert independent opinion” on their side to use against me.
I advised this woman that she should videotape her IME exam and request that Hartford send a copy of the IME report to her treating physicians prior to rendering a final decision on her claim. I also told this woman that she should make sure that each of her doctors review the disability video surveillance and provide a written response to Hartford. Hartford has a practice of denying a claimant’s request for videotapes, but they will secretly send the video tapes to your treating physicians and ask one-sided questions in an effort to deny a claim.
About the author: Gregory Michael Dell is an attorney and managing partner of the disability income division of Attorneys Dell & Schaefer. Mr. Dell shares these court cases so you can understand how complex representing disability insurance claimants actually is. Mr. Dell and his team of lawyers have assisted thousands of long-term disability claimants with their claims against every major disability insurance company. For a free consultation, please call 800-828-7583 or use our contact page.
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I have also been denied my LTD benefits from The Hartford, even though they had been paying me for the past 2 years and I was only a week and a half away from my SSD hearing. They also had surveillance on me behind my back and they sent a representative who interviewed me for 5 hours which was VERY uncomfortable. He was putting words in my mouth the whole time to make everything ‘sound better’ and I didn’t know what to do because I had nothing to hide.
While I was being watched I was having a good day and decided to take a walk in the park. I had a book bag on because I needed to carry water and a water bowl for my small dog and the surveillance guy said in his report that he ‘overheard’ me telling someone that I put weights in my bag which was a TOTAL LIE!!! He also mentioned that I wore a brace on my right knee which was also incorrect, I wear it on my left!! They sent the video to my Dr. and he said that he felt I was doing nothing wrong!
I want to dis-credit this surveillance guy because he lied, you can see that my bag is empty in the video the way it was sagging. I need help! I don’t know what to do! I can’t afford an attorney, and now I have absolutely no income! What can I do? I need to write an appeal letter but I need to make sure it’s correct and I don’t put my foot in my mouth. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!
Sabrina, your claim denial from Hartford is similar to the hundreds of other disability denials we see from Hartford. You have several options at this point, but we would need to review your denial letter and a copy of your policy. You should contact us confidentially so that we can discuss your claim. We will try our best to help get your benefits paid again.
I have started tape recording every conversation with Hartford because they frequently lie. Complaints to Insurance Department are useless.