How Do You Approach Your Doctor About Applying for Disability?
The question, How do I ask my doctor for assistance with my disability benefit claim? is top of mind for all claimants applying for disability insurance benefits.
Every disability insurance claim has to have supporting medical documentation of the claimants disability in order to receive approval from the disability insurance carrier.
Without proper documentation from treating physicians the disability insurance company will deny a claim for disability income benefits.
Every Disability Insurance Claimant Needs To Let Their Doctor Know About Their Daily Struggles, Symptoms, Limitations & the Requirements of Their Occupation
All treating physicians need to know and understand what is expected of you every day to perform your job and how your medical issues prevent you from performing those tasks. Explain how these limitations impact the degree of physical, mental, or intellectual functionality has on your ability to perform the required tasks of your occupation. All of your treating doctors need to know the struggles you face daily. Make sure your doctors understand how the symptoms you are experiencing limit or prevent you from doing your job.
How To Have Doctors Complete Disability Insurance Documentation
Let your doctors know how important it is for them to take the time to complete the medical documentation and how much you need their help. Don’t just leave the forms with your doctors. Make clear to them on your medical visit as to the purpose of the forms and what is being asked for and why. Doctors are more likely to complete the forms and cooperate if they understand the purpose of the forms and understand why your condition prevents you from performing your job.
Our Disability Insurance Attorneys Help Doctors Properly Document Medical Records
Most doctors are unfamiliar with what the disability insurance company wants and needs to be included in the forms. Often, physicians appreciate that you have hired an attorney that understands the disability medical documentation claim forms. We provide guidance so they understand what the form is for, why they are completing it, and what information needs to be expressed.
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Disability Company Reviews
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Showing 8 of 681 Reviews
Mutual of Omaha
DENIED PRE-EXISTING
I filed a claim with Mutual of Omaha because I had a hip replacement surgery. My family doctor referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. Mutual of Omaha denied my claim saying...
Hartford
Total INCOMPETENCE!!!
They don't answer or return calls... lack of communication... unorganized... takes 3-4 weeks after approval to recieve a check... they mail checks on a friday... mailed me...
Lincoln Financial
Not getting paid on time
From the very start they have not tried to work with me at all. So I went out for a knee surgery and it took a month and a half to get my first check. When I had turned al...
Sedgwick
Deadlines for you while theirs are ignored
They're absolutely terrible! Here you are on disability and they delay the whole process. Hold you accountable for your company's deadlines, meanwhile they will take well ...
Sedgwick
Terrible Company
I’ve been dealing with Sedgwick since August 2025 for my mental health claim. They originally denied my claim even though the psychiatrist recommended that I not return ...
Sun Life
Extension
Originally they approved my disability but even though my drs note and follow up info said if be out til at least the 24th of November this adjuster stopped my payments on...
Lincoln Financial
These people must not be human, they have no regard for people
LF has no sense of urgency for people without money to buy food, pay rent, etc. They take their sweet time and it's almost like they enjoy it. I have an appeal pending for...
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Disability Benefit Tips
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Why Must Your Disability Insurance Lawyer Understand Your Disabling Condition?
When it comes to securing your disability insurance benefits, it's vitally important that your disability insurance lawyer thoroughly understands the symptoms and impact of your disabling condition. Doctors can help you create strong medical records, but they're not accustomed to dealing with the rigorous documentation disability insurance companies require. Lea...
Disability Benefit Denial Reason #5 – Your Medical Evidence is Weak
If you're seeking long term disability benefits from an insurance company, you may be concerned that you're facing an uphill battle. Fortunately, the stronger your medical evidence, the greater the odds that your claim will be approved. On the other side of the coin, one of the most common reasons for denial of long term disability benefits involves too-weak med...
Disability Benefit Denial Reason #4 - Your Doctor Is Misled By the Disability Company
When you're seeking disability insurance benefits, your medical records and treating physician's statement are two of the most important components of your claim. But because the insurance company has a vested interest in denying your disability insurance claim, it often will rely on tactics like ambushing your doctor with a phone call in an attempt to get them ...
Disability Benefit Denial Reason #3 - Video & Social Media Surveillance
One thing many disability insurance claimants don't know about (or expect) from the claims review process involves video and social media surveillance. Disability insurance carriers often hire people to follow claimants around with a telephoto lens - or even send social media friend requests from fake accounts - to glean whatever information they can about the c...
How Do You Fight a Long-Term Disability Denial?
Getting a denial letter from your disability insurance company is one of the ultimate insults. You are sick and not able to work, yet your disability insurance company is telling you to return to work. The disability insurance company has denied your disability benefit claim and is basically calling you a liar. When receiving a disability denial letter or a ph...
Disability Denial Reason #2 - Change of Disability Definition & Vocational Review
One of the top reasons for terminating a claimant's long term disability benefits involves the change in the disability insurance policy's definition of "disability." This definition change often happens in conjunction with a vocational review, or an analysis of a claimant's medical records that tells the insurance company which jobs the claimant should be able ...
Disability Denial Reason #1 – Paper Review & IME
At Dell Disability Lawyers, we've seen insurance companies give countless reasons to deny long term disability benefits. However, most disability benefit denials tend to fall into one of a few categories - and one of the biggest ones is the paper review and independent medical exam (IME). Learn more about what this review process entails and what your claim file...
How to Apply for Reliance Standard Disability Benefits & Top 5 Reasons for a Claim Denial
At Dell Disability Lawyers we’ve handled hundreds of long term disability insurance claims against Reliance Standard, and have learned a few things in the process. When you’re experiencing an injury or illness that makes it difficult (or impossible) to work, it can be tempting to file a claim as quickly as possible – but unless a claimant has all their ducks in a row, this could actually delay the ultima...
Our Resolved Cases
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Showing 8 of 384 Our Resolved Cases
Commercial Real Estate Agent with Lyme Wins Northwestern Mutual Appeal
Northwestern Mutual denied a self-employed Texas commercial real estate agent's long-term disability claim by farming his file out to four separate paper reviewers — and then denied it a second time after his treating doctors disagreed. None of those reviewers ever examined him. None of them treated Lyme disease.Our client had spent years building a succes...
ERG International Customer Service Rep Wins Two MetLife Disability Appeals
MetLife denied our client's long-term disability claim twice in less than two years — both times by relying on a non-examining psychiatrist who never laid eyes on her, and both times by ignoring the lupus, connective-tissue disease, and joint hypermobility that were independently destroying her ability to work.Our client is a Texas customer service represe...
Hartford Denies Republic Services Truck Driver's Disability Benefits
Hartford terminated long-term disability benefits to a commercial driver who had survived two ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrests, lived with a permanently implanted defibrillator, and was federally barred from ever holding a CDL again. Hartford's stated reason was that the loss of his commercial driver's license, by itself, did not make him disabled.Ou...
GIC Executive Wins Mass Mutual Disability Benefit Appeal
MassMutual terminated our client's disability benefits the moment it learned he had returned to work — without ever analyzing whether the new role matched the demands of his prior occupation. Our client, a New York-based Vice President in real estate investments for GIC, had been forced to stop working due to severe generalized anxiety disorder, adjustment dis...
Veradigm Salesperson With PTSD Wins New York Life Disability Appeal
New York Life denied long-term disability benefits to an Arizona-based Veradigm Expert Solutions Specialist — a highly skilled IT professional responsible for delivering complex technical presentations to healthcare executives — based almost entirely on a paper review by a physician who never examined her, never spoke to her, and never evaluated the cognitiv...
Dental Hygienist with Wrist Injury Wins a Standard Disability Appeal
Standard Insurance Company terminated our client's Individual Disability Income benefits the moment her policy's Mental Disorder Limitation period expired — even though she had developed severe, permanent orthopedic injuries that had nothing to do with her mental health and that independently made it impossible for her to ever return to her work as a dental hy...
SAP Employee With Neck Surgery Wins Hartford Disability Appeal
Hartford terminated nearly two years of approved long-term disability benefits for an SAP America Solution Advisor Expert in Michigan — using an internal paper review by a non-physician who never examined our client, and invoking the any occupation disability standard months before the policy permitted it.Our client spent close to three decades building on...
Reliance Standard Denies LTD Benefits 4 times in 24 Months for 64 Year Old Insurance Agent with Peripheral Neuropathy
This case is crazy because Reliance Standard denied long term disability benefits four times in a 24 month period and forced the claimant to file four separate appeals. Our client was an insurance agent for Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Companies. In 2017 and 2018 he was forced to reduce his work hours due to pain and complications caused by peripheral neuropat...
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