Family Medicine and Internal Medicine Doctor Disability Claim Information and Legal Tips to Obtain Claim Approval
Learn some of the potential pitfalls and things to keep in mind when seeking disability insurance benefits as a family or internal medicine doctor.
Why do disability companies classify the duties of a Family Medicine and Internal Medicine Doctor as sedentary?
The practice of family medicine and internal medicine requires a lot more than the ability to sit more than four hours a day, yet the disability companies commonly deny internal medicine doctors disability benefits claiming that if they can sit then they can work. This argument is ridiculous and one that our lawyers are often able to overcome with the appropriate medical support and a detailed documentation of your job duties.
The disability companies will often ask for your Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) production reports, but in the practice of family medicine and internal medicine these codes will only help show the number of patients seen over specified periods of time.
In the above video disability attorneys Gregory Dell & Stephen Jessup discuss common issues we see in disability claims for family medical doctors. Our disability insurance lawyers have helped hundreds of doctors collect long term disability benefits and we know exactly what it takes to get your claim approved.
How much medical support is required for disability benefit approval?
The short answer is that you should get as much medical support as you can possibly obtain. We often tell disability claimants that you must look really bad on paper or you will have a hard time getting the claim approved. Unfortunately, most treating doctors don’t maintain patient records with the expectations that an insurance company will review them. The disability companies hire doctors to cherry pick medical records to identify all of the medical support that is not in the file.
Our disability lawyers work very closely with you and your treating doctors to obtain the best medical support possible. Often, our doctor clients will treat with colleagues and may not have the best medical support. Its important to get all the objective testing that you can and follow through with all of the treatment recommendations from your treating doctors.
Total v. Residual disability claims for an internal medicine or family medicine doctor
Most family doctors have individual disability policies and these policies usually allow them to collect residual disability benefits if they either reduce their hours or eliminate certain duties. In some cases a family doctor could collect total disability and still keep their practice running. There are also scenarios where you could start a new occupation and collect total disability benefits.
Our job is to help you plan so that you can maximize the benefits under your disability policy and engage in another type of work should you desire to do so.
Family and Internal Medicine Doctors should know all about their disability company
The language in your disability policy is specific to you and most disability policies contain different language. Every company sells different disability policies and every disability company has their own methods of handling a long-term disability claim. We have seen every type of disability policy. Our lawyers have handled thousands of disability claims with every disability insurance company and we know exactly what it takes to get your benefits paid.
We want you to learn about your disability company by searching on our website for information about your disability company. You will be in a much better position to collect disability benefits if you know as much as possible about your company. We encourage you to contact any of our disability insurance attorneys for a free initial consultation to discuss your long-term disability benefit claim.
