Nurse Disability Insurance Claims Tips to Get Disability Benefits Approved
Nursing can be one of the most demanding but rewarding professions out there. Unfortunately, for many nurses, the physical demands of the job – from long, break-free shifts to communicable disease exposure to the years of wear and tear of lifting heavy patients – can sometimes be career-ending. Read on for some tips that can help nurses who are seeking long term disability benefits.
You must understand the definition of “disability” in your policy.
Each long term disability insurance policy is a little different, and these policies can vary based on region, insurance carrier, and even the age of the claimant. By understanding how your long term disability insurance policy defines “disability,” you’ll be better able to tailor your claim for benefits to the policy’s definitions, improving the odds that your claim will be approved.
Nurses have a unique advantage when it comes to filing a long term disability claim – they know medical records forward and backward. Most nurses have no problem assembling the medical record for a disability claim, though an attorney can still help when it comes to crafting the disability claim package to adequately showcase every way in which the disabling condition affects the way you perform your job.
“Regular Occupation” is a policy term that may not reflect how you performed your duties as a nurse.
There are dozens of different subspecialties within the nursing profession, and the “regular occupation” definition – which defines a nurse’s duties based on the national economy – doesn’t usually cover all the ins and outs of a nurse’s specific position. Most insurance carriers rely on the Dictionary of Occupational Titles to establish the baseline duties for a claimant, but because nurses’ duties have evolved significantly over the last two decades, this dictionary simply has not kept up.
Working with a vocational expert helps to clarify the reasonable duties of a nurse.
The definition of “nurse” in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles is not necessarily binding on a disability claimant. One of the tools in a disability claimant’s arsenal is the use of a vocational expert. These experts will interview the claimant and generate a comprehensive report that goes above and beyond the dictionary definition of “nurse” to encompass everything the claimant does during a day (or week) at work.
Many nurses have very physically-demanding jobs that can involve lifting and moving patients who weigh up to 300 pounds, repetitively using their hands or arms, and spending up to 12 hours a day on their feet. And because most nurses’ positions are so patient-focused, a nurse who is on the job while experiencing serious pain or illness may not be able to provide an adequate level of patient care.
Your policy may have provisions that can limit your benefit payments to 12 or 24 months.
Many nurses’ long term disability policies are provided and paid by their employers. Unfortunately, these group policies have more extensive limitations than private long term disability policies, which can affect a nurse’s ability to collect disability benefits.
One disadvantage of these group policies is that they often have inadequate coverage for mental health claims, limiting the benefit period to 12 to 24 months. Furthermore, “invisible” illnesses like chronic pain, chronic fatigue, or certain autoimmune conditions are often limited to a 12 to 24 month benefit period.
Strong medical documentation by your doctors and medical testing may be required to get disability benefits paid.
One of the most impactful things a nurse can do to support their long term disability claim is something they’re already used to doing—keeping contemporaneous records and notes of how their disability is affecting them. By adding these notes to the medical records that are already in place, a nurse can present a strong claim for disability benefits and clear proof of how this disability is impacting the nurse’s ability to do their job.
In some cases, this medical documentation can also include cognitive testing. Nurses are often charged with administering life and death decisions on behalf of the patients in their care, and a nurse who can’t concentrate because of the level of pain they’re in may be a risk. On the other end of the spectrum, a nurse who must take prescription pain medication to make it through a shift may not be in the proper mental state to be responsible for patient care decisions. Don’t let your disability insurance carrier understate the extent to which your job requires a clear, focused head.
If you have a chronic medical condition, then you must prepare your disability claim in advance to get approved.
One question insurance carriers often ask is whether nurses can continue to work if they’re performing a sedentary or light duty job instead of a medium- to heavy-duty one. But “sedentary” doesn’t mean physically effortless, and many nurses who have been fighting through the pain for years may be unable to perform even sedentary work on a full-time basis.
The attorneys at Dell & Schaefer have helped hundreds of nurses throughout the U.S. recover long term disability benefits under the terms of an employer-paid disability policy. If you’d like to learn more or want to set up your free initial consultation, get in touch with one of our experienced long term disability attorneys today.
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Sedgwick
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Hartford
Hartford Denied My Benefits After 14 years
Hello. I am contacting you because I see you have won many cases against The Hartford. You won one case that I almost mirror what The Hartford did to the man that was on L... read more >
MetLife
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The worst company I ever dealt with, never received a call from my claim manager.
Reliance Standard
Short Term Disability Claim/Inconsistent to NO Communication
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Unum
Unum Closed My Case Today
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Sun Life
SunLife's behavior is outlandish and criminal to say the very least
I have a super-pubic catheter and am having to use a cane for ambulation. Sunlife is dragging their feet with paying my LTD. They say that “Just because I have a cathete... read more >
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New York Life
This has been a very long and hard road
I worked for 13 years as a Registered Nurse, since 1999. I worked in many fields, but the last 7 years I worked on an ICU cardiac care unit. I actually became ill in 2001 ... read more >
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Hartford
Hartford has financially crippled us. I was so mislead
Hello, my name is Linda VanDenHeuvel. I’m a Registered Nurse who worked in emergency departments for 32 years as a Trauma Nurse Specialist. For 13 years, I paid premiums... read more >
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