How We Help To Appeal Your Hartford Disability Denial

Let’s discuss how you can win your Hartford Disability Appeal. Hartford disability denials are usually unreasonable and with preparation of a strong appeal package you can get your benefits paid. There is only one chance to submit a Hartford appeal and it must be drafted strategically in order to win your disability benefits. Our disability insurance lawyers have reviewed thousands of Hartford short and long term disability denials on behalf of claimants nationwide and we are available now to provide you with a free phone consultation with one of our attorneys. We have seen every type of Hartford disability denial and we know exactly what is required in order to give you the best chance to win your Hartford disability benefit appeal.

Why Is It Important to Prepare a Strong Hartford Appeal? 

We want you to be educated about the Hartford appeal process and learn how our law firm can help give you the best chance to win your Hartford disability appeal. In our Hartford Disability Appeal Tips video above attorneys Gregory Dell and Rachel Alters discuss the following: 

• Why is it important for you to submit a strong appeal package to Hartford?
• Why are you at a disadvantage by appealing Hartford’s disability denial on your own?
• Why is support from your doctor so important for a Hartford disability appeal?
• How can we help prepare a strong appeal package to Hartford? 
• Why are custom attending physician statements essential?
• Why is a vocational review crucial in filing your disability appeal with Hartford?

How Can You Win Your Hartford Disability Appeal?

With strategy, collaboration and execution you can get your Hartford disability claim approved. Every Hartford disability benefit denial is unique because everyone has different medical conditions that prevent them from working, the definition of disability is different in most Hartford disability policies, and lastly your prior work experience and education will have a big impact on the ability to perform any job. Our law firm’s history of winning disability appeals comes from working very closely and strategically with you, your treating doctors, and vocational consultants. We take a custom approach to how we handle every appeal and we look forward to discussing your Hartford disability denial with you. As you begin the process to get your Hartford disability denial reversed you should watch our video below.

Most Hartford disability benefit denials are based on Hartford’s determination that you do not have sufficient medical limitations which prevent you from working in a specific occupation or any occupation. While Hartford may first notify you of a disability denial via telephone, the basis for Hartford’s denial is required to be included in their denial letter. The documents that Hartford relied upon to deny your disability claim must be contained in the claim file. In your Hartford denial letter, Hartford gives you the right to request a complete copy of your claim file and that is the first step we take. 

Why is Hartford Required To Send You All Information Used To Deny Your Disability Claim?

ERISA regulations require Hartford to prepare and send your claim file within 30 days of a written request. The claim file is supposed to include all information relied upon to deny your disability benefits, which would include medical records, financial records, internal emails, memos and notes, your disability plan documents, video surveillance and any medical reviews and vocational reviews conducted by Hartford. Upon receipt, your Hartford disability claim file must be reviewed with great detail. Depending on how long your disability claim has been pending, your claim file can range from 500 to 10,000 pages. 

The Hartford claim files are often intentionally disorganized and require legal experience in order to know what information in the claim file is relevant to preparing a strong Appeal. We always request the claim file for our clients and upon receipt we immediately organize and analyze all information so that we can prepare a plan of attack that puts our client in the best position to have their short term or long term disability benefits reinstated.

There is only one chance to submit a Hartford appeal and it must be drafted strategically.

How Does A Plan of Attack Help You Win a Hartford Disability Appeal?

After our lawyers complete a full review of your Hartford claim file and review all of your up to date medical records, we formulate a plan of attack that we believe must be followed in the preparation of your Hartford appeal. You only have 180 days from your date of benefit denial to submit an appeal so it’s important to act quickly in order to submit a timely appeal package. Our appeal plan always includes a medical and occupational strategy. Every plan is anchored by determining what additional medical documentation and support we can obtain to prove your disability. Doctors usually can’t stand insurance companies, and while they want to help you they get frustrated and don’t properly document your restrictions and limitations. The problem is that treating doctors usually document medical records for purposes of treating you and are not assuming that their medical records will be dissected by a disability insurance company. Through our experience in helping thousands of disability claimants we work with your doctors to document your medical conditions appropriately.

We Help You Prove That Hartford’s Doctors Are Wrong

Hartford will commonly deny a long term disability claim on the basis that you have insufficient medical documentation and/or support from your doctor.

Hartford usually relies on their own employed doctors or nurses to deny your disability claim. Regardless of what your doctors may have concluded, Hartford will almost always favor the opinions of their own doctors over your own. The way to overcome this inherent bias is to present strong medical evidence in support of disability that no reasonable person could disagree with. In some cases Hartford will request for you to be examined by one of their doctors. In the video below Attorneys Cesar Gavidia and Rachel Alters discuss what you should expect at a medical exam” requested by The Hartford.

Our job during the appeal process is to work with you and your treating doctors to obtain medical evidence that rebuts Hartford’s internal clinicians (or hired doctors). In addition, we may suggest additional diagnostic testing or medical consultations with different medical specialists if we believe it will help bolster your claim. 

In some appeals we will have you undergo a Functional Capacity Exam (FCE) or an Independent Medical Exam (IME). We may also submit medical literature from leading medical publications which support your symptoms, limitations and potential risks associated with your condition. Obtaining strong written support from all of your treating doctors is usually the most challenging aspect of preparing a Hartford Disability Appeal.

Obtaining strong written support from all of your treating doctors is usually the most challenging aspect of preparing a Hartford Disability Appeal.

Custom Attending Physician Statements Are Essential

In every appeal we handle, we draft custom attending physician statements for your doctors. Our physician statements are specific to your Hartford Long Term disability policy definition of disability and your specific medical condition(s). The attending physician statements created by Hartford and previously completed by your treating doctors are generic and intentionally designed by Hartford to offer limited support for your claim. Hartford always argues that diagnosis does not equal disability. This means that we must work with your treating doctors to properly document your restrictions and limitations as a result of your diagnosis. If you have more than one condition that may impact your ability to work, and are treating with more than one physician we will reach out to all relevant treating doctors and may have you attend an examination. Our disability lawyers are very good at getting this done and it is the most important part of a successful Hartford disability appeal.

Hartford Appeal Success Story

Our client was an IT Business Analyst who became disabled due to various cognitive impairments. Hartford denied his claim, asserting that the medical evidence did not support long term disability. In our video below, Attorneys Gregory Dell and Cesar Gavidia discuss the case in more detail and how an appeal was prepared resulting in Hartford reversing the denial of long term disability benefits.

Why Must Your Appeal Contain Strong Occupational Evidence?

In most Hartford disability denials, Hartford will argue that if you can sit in a chair for 6 hours a day then you should be able to work. This is obviously a ridiculous conclusion, but you must submit occupational evidence that any job requires more than just the ability to sit. Hartford’s denial letters will usually misrepresent your job duties or list other jobs they think you can perform for 40 hours a week. Depending upon the applicable definition of “disability” at the time you become disabled, it is critical to review how Hartford has determined the duties of a job they say you can perform. 

The occupational evidence that must be presented in your appeal will depend upon whether your definition of “disability” is either the inability to perform your “Own occupation” or the inability to perform “Any Gainful Occupation.” Own Occupation and Any Gainful Occupation are defined terms in your Hartford disability policy. In most Hartford disability policies the definition of disability is Own Occupation for the first 24 months and then it switches to the more difficult definition of Any Gainful Occupation. Most Hartford disability denials happen either at the inception of a disability claim or when the definition of disability changes at the 24 month mark. 

How Does Hartford Determine The Duties of an Occupation?

Hartford will rely on their own vocational consultant to determine how either your job is performed in the national economy or how any other job is performed in the national economy. This means that Hartford ignores the way you actually performed your job for your employer and randomly determines how your job is performed nationally. Hartford will also come up with their own opinions about how any job is performed regardless of who the employer may be. 

To rebut Hartford’s unreasonable occupational assessments, we regularly work with vocational experts in order to clearly define the duties of a specific job and the physical requirements to perform a specific job for 40 hours a week. A vocational expert will prepare a detailed report which reviews the duties of all jobs suggested by Hartford, review your medical records, review your restrictions and limitations, and explain why you are unable to perform the job duties suggested by Hartford. If necessary, the vocational expert may also perform a labor market analysis discussing the availability and salaries of specific jobs. 

In many denial letters, Hartford will come up with jobs that are not available in your area and that make these job suggestions unreasonable. As additional occupational evidence we may also submit employer statements from your co-workers, your job description, a personal statement from you about a typical day at the job, industry reports, and samples of work products produced in your job. 

We provide a lot of detail in our Appeals to explain why you cannot perform the specific job duties of either your job or any job. Depending upon your definition of disability when you are denied, we also present evidence in our Appeals that can get you approved for benefits if your definition of disability will change at the 24 month mark. We don’t want you to win an Own Occupation appeal only to be denied again because you don’t qualify under the Any Occupation definition of disability.

Hartford Appeal Success Story

In the below video, Attorneys Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup discuss the case of a woman suffering from fibromyalgia and associated mental health claims of disability. Our client worked as an Office Administrator. Hartford limited her claim to a maximum of 24 months, asserting that she had no physical disability. After preparing and submitting an appeal package Hartford reversed the decision to deny or otherwise limit her claim and reinstated long-term disability benefits.

How Courts Review Hartford Disability Appeals

This paragraph may contain some technical legal information and we will try to make it as simple as possible. 95% of Hartford appeals are governed by a law called ERISA and you must understand ERISA laws in order to prepare and write a strategic appeal. There is only one chance to submit a Hartford appeal and it must be drafted in a manner so as not to tell Hartford everything they did wrong. Most people, including lawyers that don’t focus their legal practice on Hartford appeals, will submit appeals where they basically give Hartford a roadmap on how to review the appeal by telling Hartford everything they did wrong on the initial review. They will include lots of case law and a detailed criticism of everything Hartford did wrong. This is not the proper way to submit an appeal and really does nothing more than guide Hartford as to how to conduct a “reasonable review” of your initial claim denial.

What Does A Reasonable Review Mean Under ERISA For A Hartford Appeal?

The “reasonable review” language is key because if your appeal is denied by Hartford and an ERISA lawsuit is filed, a judge must review the denial and apply an unfair legal standard called “abuse of discretion”. The abuse of discretion standard requires a judge first to determine if you are disabled. If the Judge concludes you are disabled, then the Judge can only reverse the benefit denial if he or she thinks the review conducted by Hartford was unreasonable. So a Judge can find that you are disabled, but Hartford’s unfavorable review of your claim was reasonable. In this scenario your denial will be upheld as the Judge must defer to the reasonable review conducted by the insurance company.

No matter how big or scary Hartford may seem, we have recovered disability insurance benefits for our Hartford clients in more than 95% of the Hartford disability cases our law firm has accepted.

Why Drafting A Strategic Hartford Disability Appeal Is Crucial 

Because of the abuse of discretion standard that applies to any Hartford disability policy that contains a “discretionary clause”, we always draft a strategic appeal that focuses on your medical restrictions/limitations and how you are disabled in accordance with your disability policy’s definition of disability, rather than simply saying what Hartford did was wrong. By telling them what they did wrong, it actually helps Hartford create a record for litigation that could be perceived as more reasonable. There are a few states where the discretionary clause is illegal and the judge’s decision on the claim will be final regardless of the reasonableness of Hartford’s appeal review.

Regardless of the standard of review that will apply to your Hartford disability appeal denial, our lawyers have a very specific style of organizing, preparing and drafting Hartford disability appeals letters which have helped thousands of disability claimants nationwide to receive their disability insurance benefits.

Let’s Discuss Your Hartford Disability Denial

When we review your claim we will give you an immediate and honest opinion about your chances of recovering disability insurance benefits from Hartford. Don’t let Hartford or anyone else convince you to handle your Appeal without legal help as you are about to go to battle against a company that generates billions of dollars a year in revenue. To help you learn as much as possible about Hartford and the ERISA Appeal process we encourage you to review all of the helpful information listed below. We welcome you to contact any of our disability insurance lawyers for an immediate free phone consultation.