Collecting Multiple Sclerosis Disability Benefits Is A Reality

The disability insurance attorneys of our firm have handled numerous multiple sclerosis and other chronic disability cases in which the disability insurance company will deny a claim, insisting that the client does not have a severe enough form of the disease. However, we understand that living with multiple sclerosis, or MS, can be emotionally challenging and physically demanding as you try to maintain daily activities in addition to your job. Due to the degenerative nature of MS, most claimants will work for many years with the condition, before they are no longer able to do so. Disability carriers will want to see strong medical support that that your medical condition has deteriorated to the point where you can no longer perform your work duties. Our disability lawyers work very closely with you and your treating doctor(s) to make sure your disability is properly documented.

Through our years of experience we know exactly what the insurance companies must see in order to approve a claim or reverse a disability benefit denial. We have worked with the world’s leading neurologist specializing in MS and all of our lawyers are constantly staying updated on the latest medical publications dealing with diagnosis and treatment of MS. Disability companies often focus on the physical limitations and ignore the cognitive difficulties a person with MS experiences.

MS can often be challenging to diagnosis early in the course of the disease because symptoms often come and go, sometimes disappearing for months. These relapses, or flare ups, of the disease can often affect an individual for an unknown amount of time. Returning to or continuing employment following an episode can also exacerbate the disease. As soon as a disability carrier hears that a claimant is having a good day, then they immediately assume the claimant is fit to return to work. The disability company will also conduct regular video surveillance of claimants suffering with MS. We work with our clients to educate them about how to deal with the disability carrier and their treating doctors in order to avoid claim denial.

Which Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis Are Disabling?

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society defines MS as having four different clinical courses. These clinical courses are called relapsing remitting, secondary progressive, primary progressive and progressive relapsing. Symptoms of MS vary widely, depending on the amount of damage and which particular nerves are affected. Common symptoms individuals with MS can suffer from include:

  • Numbness or weakness
  • Optic neuritis and other eye disorders
  • Tingling or pain
  • Tremors
  • Lack of coordination
  • Unsteady gait
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness
  • Muscle stiffness or spasms
  • Paralysis
  • Cognitive changes
  • Depression
  • Epilepsy

If you or someone you love is struggling to continue working after an MS diagnosis, talk with us about your rights in seeking short or long term disability insurance benefits. Our firm offers a free consultation to discuss your legal options and we help with the application process, ERISA appeals or the filing of lawsuits. Additionally, if an insurance provider asks you to continually prove the severity of your disability, talk with us about how we can help. Call us or fill out our online case review form to begin your no obligation discussion of your potential claim today. We have been handling disability insurance claims since 1979 and we can help you no matter where you live.

Our Experience with Multiple Sclerosis Disability Claims

We have handled numerous MS disability insurance claims. The cases below attest to our achievements in securing beneficial results for our clients with MS. We invite you to review our resolved cases and client testimonials to learn more about our firm.

Woman with Multiple Sclerosis Files Long Term Disability Benefit Denial Lawsuit Against Prudential Insurance Company
Hartford Approves Long Term Disability Benefits for Teaching Assistant with Multiple Sclerosis

Resources

If you would like to learn more about MS, these sites are valuable sources of information:

Many charities are dedicated to researching new technologies, better symptom management and providing a community of support for individuals with MS. These charities include the:

We keep the content on this site updated with the most current MS disability news and law changes. Bookmark this page and return to it frequently to stay informed.

Resources to Help You Win Disability Benefits

Disability Benefit Denial Options
Submit a Strong Appeal Package

We work with you, your doctors, and other experts to submit a very strong appeal.

Learn more

Sue Your Disability Insurance Company

We have filed thousands of disability denial lawsuits in federal Courts nationwide.

Learn more

Protect Your Benefits
Get Your Disability Application Approved
We help claimants throughout the entire application process.

Learn more

Prevent a Disability Benefit Denial
We manage every aspect of your disability claim following claim approval.

Learn more

Negotiate a Lump-Sum Settlement

Our goal is to negotiate the highest possible buyout of your long-term disability policy.

Learn more

Disability Company Reviews
(641)
Showing 8 of 641 Reviews
New York Life

Keeps claiming they will not approve claim for pre existing conditions but my illness is not preexisting

Reviewed by M.T. on February 15th 2024   Verified Policyholder | May 2023 date of disability
I have been appealing a claim for LTD for 8 months! New York Life keeps claiming they will not approve claim for pre existing conditions but my illness is not preexisting ... read more >
Reliance Standard

Staff Lie

Reviewed by Tanya on February 12th 2024   Verified Policyholder | August 2021 date of disability
I had my disability cut off the day I was scheduled to find out whether I should have surgery. The claims examiner was aware that I had an appointment on that date and sai... read more >
Reply
Sent on February 12th 2024 by Attorney Gregory Dell

I am sorry to hear about your experience. It’s crazy that Reliance Standard would deny your disability benefits when you are suffering so badly that you need surgery.... read more >

Hartford

Former Hartford employee has had life insurance and accidental death policy's revoked for one late premium payment

Reviewed by Becky H. THOMAS on February 12th 2024   Verified Policyholder | February 2024 date of disability
Dislike how they are constantly interrupting the lives of their disabled EE's whom are entitled to benefit which they paid into out of there pay check every pay period onl... read more >
Reply
Sent on February 12th 2024 by Attorney Gregory Dell

Thank you for your review of Hartford and we appreciate you sharing.  It’s sad they don’t take care of their own employees.

Lincoln Financial

Never received benefits my entire leave - or help with them

Reviewed by Anna on December 19th 2023   Verified Policyholder | November 2023 date of disability
I used my short term disability insurance for maternity leave and started the process beforehand knowing when I would be out (scheduled induction.) It took a little over a... read more >
Sun Life

Unscrupulous Tactics

Reviewed by Misseekayy on December 19th 2023   Verified Policyholder | May 2023 date of disability
Sunlife uses unscrupulous tactics in order to prevent payment of claims. They wait until it is close to the 30 day mark and then they ask for another form of information o... read more >
Sedgwick

Lame

Reviewed by Dennis T. on December 11th 2023   Verified Policyholder | March 2022 date of disability
My experience with Sedgwick and personell is as follows: Unhelpful, unprofessional and an overall unpleasant experience.
Unum

Low payments

Reviewed by Dorothy on November 30th 2023   Verified Policyholder | November 2023 date of disability
I was injured at work. I did house keeping in a hospital. I tore just about everything imaginable in my knee. I was let go from my job, because I was no longer able to do ... read more >
Standard

Stanfrod declined my MS claim

Reviewed by Connie on July 4th 2014   Verified Policyholder
Diagnosed with MS 2006, filed STD claim with The Standard April 1, 2014. Denial letter June 2014 stating doctor did not provide enough evidence that I am unable to perform... read more >
Reply
Sent on July 4th 2014 by Attorney Jay Symonds

Connie, the trend in the disability insurance industry seems to be denial of claims on account of MS due to a multitude of reasons they believe do not support functiona... read more >

Answered Questions by Our Lawyers
(6)
Showing 6 of 6 Answered Questions

Q: What is clinical review? And what are my chances of getting continual approval during the own occupation period?

Answered on April 20th 2017 by Attorney Stephen Jessup
A: Linsey, as disability benefits are determined on a month to month basis an insurance company is allowed to rev... Read More >

Q: Should I hire a lawyer for my appeal?

Answered on November 1st 2016 by Attorney Stephen Jessup
A: Mare, it certainly would be advisable to discuss the denial with an attorney. The ERISA appeal process can be ... Read More >

Q: What should I do if my company can't accomade an option for me to work remotely?

Answered on July 22nd 2016 by Attorney Cesar Gavidia
A: Thomas, if you are unable to work, your employer disability plan(s) may be your only viable options for income... Read More >

Q: Why is Aetna taking so long to review my claim?

Answered on June 13th 2016 by Attorney Stephen Jessup
A: Mikki, without knowing about the procedural history of the current application we would not have much insight.... Read More >

Q: Do I meet the criteria for claiming disability if I have MS?

Answered on February 17th 2014 by Attorney Stephen Jessup
A: Debi, Insurance carriers have been seemingly tough of MS claims due to the fact that like you said, you appear... Read More >

Q: Why is MOO saying my husband does not have MS to receive LTD when they approved his STD because of MS? Should I hire an attorney?

Answered on December 22nd 2012 by Attorney Gregory Dell
A: Marilyn, Hiring an attorney is obviously optional, but you are trying to deal with a multi billion dollar insu... Read More >
Helpful Videos
(873)
Showing 12 of 873 Videos
Disability Benefit Tips
(330)
Showing 8 of 330 Benefit Tips

How can a claimant exclude their disability insurance benefit payments from Federal Income Tax?

As disability lawyers we do not provide any tax advice. We are routinely asked about the tax implications of disability insurance benefits. In... Read More >

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 concern... Read More >

Disability Benefit Denial Reason #4 - Your Doctor Is Misled By the Disability Company

When you're seeking disability benefits under a long term disability policy, your medical rec... Read More >

Disability Benefit Denial Reason #3 - Video & Social Media Surveillance

One thing many long term disability claimants don't know about (or expect) from the claims re... Read More >

How Do You Fight a Long-Term Disability Denial?

Getting a denial letter from your disability insurance company is one of the ultimate insults... Read More >

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 th... Read More >

Disability Denial Reason #1 – Paper Review & IME

At Dell Disability Lawyers, we've seen insurance companies give countless reasons to deny lon... Read More >

How to Apply for Reliance Standard Disability Benefits & Top 5 Reasons for a Claim Denial

At Dell & Schaefer we’ve handled hundreds of long term disability insurance claims against Reliance Standard, and have learned a few thi... Read More >
Dell Disability Cases
(372)
Showing 8 of 372 Dell Disability Cases

New York Life Approves Disability Benefits for School Teacher With Multiple Sclerosis

Our client, a former elementary school teacher suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, contacted our office after New York Life terminated her clai... Read More >

Lincoln Denies Disability Insurance Benefits to 66 Years old Software Developer with Long Covid and MS

Our client came to us after he was denied continued Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company. Previ... Read More >

Dell Disability Lawyers Wins Short Term Disability Appeal Against Lincoln

Prior to contacting our office to assist her in fighting Lincoln to secure her short term disability benefits, our client, a Financial Control... Read More >

Cigna overturns decision to terminate benefits of Claimant suffering from Multiple Sclerosis

Cigna terminated long-term disability benefits as it determined that the claimant was no longer unable to perform the material and substantial... Read More >

After appeal filed by Attorney Jay Symonds, Hartford overturned its previous denial of long term disability benefits for Tennessee Claims Supervisor

Our client, Ms. G, formerly worked as a Claims Supervisor for a large national insurance carrier. In November 2012 a number of medical issues,... Read More >

Lincoln Approves Disability Benefits Following Second Appeal

After over a yearlong fight with Lincoln Financial, our client, with the assistance of Attorney Stephen Jessup, was finally successful in secu... Read More >

Lincoln Overturns Denial of LTD Benefits After Two Appeals

After fighting for her disability benefits for over a year, Lincoln finally awarded benefits to our client following two levels of administrat... Read More >
Disability Lawsuit Stories
(765)
Showing 8 of 765 Lawsuit Stories

Court Rules Plaintiff's Medical Records Was Replete With Evidence Supporting Claim of MS & Was Not A Pre-Existing Condition

BackgroundIn Bayer v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, C.A. No. 18-9702 (E.D. LA 2020), Plaintiff began working as a seni... Read More >

Court Finds Aetna Had No Credible Argument Whatsoever To Support Its Decision To Deny Benefits To Claimant With MS

When it comes to ERISA governed claims, no circuit is more plaintiff friendly than the 9th Circuit. A recent ruling by a Washington district c... Read More >

3 Ways Hartford Wrongfully Denied Long Term Disability Insurance Benefits to Claimant with MS

A New York claimant, Ms. Ingravallo, filed an ERISA lawsuit after Hartford determined that, after paying long term disability benefits for ove... Read More >

Cigna denies Herff Jones Inc. employee disability benefits after she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis

Karen Kolesky has filed a lawsuit against Herff Jones Inc., Cigna Insurance, and Life Insurance Company of North America in the United States ... Read More >

Former Aegon USA employee suffering with multiple sclerosis sues CIGNA for denial of disability insurance benefits

A recent disability insurance lawsuit filed at the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin can serve as an eye opener to the kind... Read More >

Sun Life deducts veteran disability benefits from claimant's monthly long term disability check

Most long term disability insurance policies allow the insurance company to offset the monthly disability payments to an insured if the insure... Read More >

Reliance Standard limits disability insurance benefits to 24 months for mental nervous disorder, despite claimant's diagnosis of multiple sclerosis

This case is an example of how a diagnosis of a disabling condition such as multiple sclerosis ("MS") does not always mean the claimant is dis... Read More >

Can CIGNA approve disability benefits but deny life insurance waiver of premium?

The case of William MacNally v. Life Insurance Company of North America (LINA / CIGNA) is an interesting one. In this case LINA argued that de... Read More >

Reviews from Our Clients

Request a Free Consultation

Our Lawyers Respond Same Day

5 Ways We Help Get Your Benefits Paid

Get Your Disability Application Approved

Our goal is to get your application for disability income benefits approved. Applying for disability benefits can be a difficult process and the information you provide is critical. Most disability insurance companies look at your application in hopes of finding a reason to deny your claim. Your disability company will ask you to complete numerous forms, interview you, request lots of information, speak with your doctors and possibly request to have you examined by their "hired gun" doctor.

Through our experience of having helped thousands of disability insurance claimants, our lawyers will guide you through the entire application process and give you the best chance to get your disability claim approved the first time.

Submit A Strong Appeal Package

If your disability insurance benefits have been wrongfully denied, then our lawyers know exactly what it takes to get your disability claim approved. You only get once chance to submit an Appeal, therefore every piece of evidence that will support your disability claim must be included. The goal is to win your disability benefits at the Appeal level, but while preparing your Appeal you must consider how a federal judge will review your disability claim if your benefit denial is upheld.

Preparing a strong disability appeal package is an art that requires you to understand how the courts interpret your disability policy language, ERISA regulations / laws, and how to strategically present evidence in support of your definition of "disability". We encourage you to contact any of our lawyers for a free immediate review of your disability denial.

Sue Your Disability Company

98% of the disability insurance lawsuits filed by our law firm have resulted in either the payment of benefits or a lump-sum settlement agreement. Our disability lawyers have filed ERISA governed and private policy long term disability insurance lawsuits against every major disability insurance company in state and federal courts nationwide and we love fighting for the "little guy" against the multi-billion dollar insurance company giants.

We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients and we would like the opportunity to provide you with a free review of your disability benefit denial. There are many complex factors in a disability benefit lawsuit and the legal battle to win long term disability benefits can be fierce.

Prevent A Disability Benefit Denial

Approval of long-term disability is a continuous process as every disability insurance company will evaluate your eligibility for benefits on a monthly basis. You can never let your guard down and assume that your disability company will continue to pay your benefits for as long as you think you need them.

Our law firm offers a reasonable flat fee monthly claim handling service in which we handle every aspect of your long-term disability claim and do whatever it takes to make sure you are paid every month.

Negotiate a Lump-Sum Settlement

Let's discuss if a lump-sum settlement or buyout of your disability insurance claim is both available and makes financial sense for you. Our lawyers have negotiated more than five-hundred million dollars in disability insurance buyouts and we know how to get you a maximum settlement. A disability insurance company is not required to offer a buyout and not every disability company offers them.

Questions About Hiring Us

Who are Dell Disability Lawyers?

We are disability insurance lawyers that know how to get your short or long term disability benefits paid. As a nationwide law firm we have helped thousands of disability insurance claimants throughout the United States to collect hundreds of millions of dollars of disability insurance benefits from every major disability insurance company.

In more than 98% of our cases, our lawyers have been able to either get our clients paid monthly disability benefits or obtain a one-time lump-sum settlement. Our lawyers have seen it all when it comes to disability insurance claims and we know exactly what it takes for your disability claim to be approved.

We welcome you to contact any of our attorneys for a free immediate review of your disability claim. We also invite you to visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we have more than 700 videos and regularly provide tips to help protect your disability benefits.

Who do you help?

Our lawyers help individuals that have either purchased a long term disability insurance policy from an insurance company or obtained short or long term disability insurance coverage as a benefit from their employer. We have helped individuals in almost every type of occupation with monthly disability benefit payments ranging from $1,500 to $50,000.

Our clients include all types of employees ranging from retail associates, sales representatives, government employees, police officers, teachers, janitors, nurses, pilots, truck drivers, financial advisors, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, consultants, IT professionals, engineers, professional athletes, business owners, and high level executives.

A strong understanding and presentation of the duties of your occupation is essential for securing disability insurance benefits.

Do you work in my state?

Yes. We are a national disability insurance law firm that is available to represent you regardless of where you live in the United States. We have partner lawyers in every state and we have filed lawsuits in most federal courts nationwide. Our disability lawyers represent disability claimants at all stages of a claim for disability insurance benefits. There is nothing that our lawyers have not seen in the disability insurance world.

What are your fees?

Since we represent disability insurance claimants at different stages of a disability insurance claim we offer a variety of different fee options. We understand that claimants living on disability insurance benefits have a limited source of income; therefore we always try to work with the claimant to make our attorney fees as affordable as possible.

The three available fee options are a contingency fee agreement (no attorney fee or cost unless we make a recovery), hourly fee or fixed flat rate.

In every case we provide each client with a written fee agreement detailing the terms and conditions. We always offer a free initial phone consultation and we appreciate the opportunity to work with you in obtaining payment of your disability insurance benefits.

Do I have to come to your office to work with your law firm?

No. For purposes of efficiency and to reduce expenses for our clients we have found that 99% of our clients prefer to communicate via phone, email, fax, GoToMeeting sessions, or Skype. If you prefer an initial in-person meeting please let us know. A disability company will never require you to come to their office and similarly we are set up so that we handle your entire claim without the need for you to come to our office.

How can I contact you?

When you call us during normal business hours you will immediately speak with a disability attorney. We can be reached at 800-698-9159 or by email. Lawyers and staff must return all client calls same day. Client emails are usually replied to within the same business day and seem to be the preferred and most efficient method of communication for most clients.