Sun Life Approves LTD Claim for General Surgeon with Back Disorders
Our firm represents a general surgeon who can no longer perform surgeries on a full-time basis due to multiple spinal surgeries as well as a previous shoulder injury. The surgeries he has undergone are as follows:
- Left L5-S1 micro-discectomy June 2012
- Right C6-C7 ACDF May 2013
- Left C5-C6 ACDF June 2017
- 3 level lumbar laminectomy/decompression May 2021
He was out of work completely for five months (February through June) of this year with a left shoulder paralysis secondary to left upper trunk brachial plexus injury following his second COVID vaccination. He underwent his last spine operation while was out of work for the shoulder issue. Fortunately, he recovered enough from the shoulder issue to be able to return to work full time as of July 1, 2021, but the back issues are ongoing and hindered his ability to perform the material duties of his occupation as a general surgeon on a full time basis. He has a long-term disability plan with Sun Life through his employer, as well as three separate private policies that are own occupation with The Standard and Ameritas. He came to us as he was concerned about getting his Residual claims approved as he believes his condition will be permanent and could potentially turn into a total disability claim should his condition worsen. We worked diligently with our client assisting him in filling out all of the claim forms, worked directly with his treating physicians to properly fill out all Attending Physician’s statements and reviewed all medical records to ensure that the documentation by his neurosurgeon and pain management physicians was thorough and supportive of the restrictions and limitations that were preventing him from working in a full time capacity.
Our client was forced to cut his surgery schedule in half due to his inability to stand for long periods of time in the OR and to hold his arms in a static position. He found he was capable of performing surgeries for a half day without too much pain, however, if he worked greater than 4-5 hours his performance would suffer and he was unable to operate the next day. His surgeon recommended he cut his hours in half due to the issues he continued to suffer from. We were successful getting his claims approved and will manage his claims for as long as necessary to help ensure that he remains on claim.
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Disability Company Reviews
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Mutual of Omaha
90 days and still waiting
I filed for benefits in July, 2024 with an effective date of 7/30 (after the 14 day wait) and today is October 18th and my claim is still pending. They either don't want t... read more >
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Horrible STD Service. Run !!!!
For the first time since I can remember my employer did not offer STD as one of my paid benefits so I’m paying for this policy. Had to file a claim on 6-14-25. Went thro... read more >
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