Collecting Substance Abuse Disorder Disability Benefits Is A Reality

Substance Abuse Disorder disability claims are often challenged by disability insurance companies. How Can Disability Attorneys Dell & Schaefer Assist You?

As disability insurance attorneys, Dell & Schaefer have represented numerous long term disability claimants that have been unable to work as a result of a substance abuse disorder (drugs or alcohol).

Substance abuse disorder is a category of long-term disability which is often overlooked by individuals who could file a claim for long-term disability. That’s because when we think of categories in which people usually file disability claims with their long-term disability insurance carrier, physical disabilities are usually the first come to mind. It is common that substance abuse develops secondary to a physically disabling condition.

Long-term disability insurance carriers are usually quick to deny a substance abuse disability claim for a number of reasons. Not the least of which has to do with the insurance company’s view that drug and alcohol abuse on the part of the claimant can be resolved through various forms of treatment. In the insurance carrier’s eyes, the responsibility toward making long-term disability payments to the claimant is mitigated. With that said, the long-term disability insurance carrier fails to acknowledge the fact that drug and alcohol abuse is a mental disease that must be managed and one that cannot be cured.

Disability Attorneys Dell & Schaefer have an expansive understanding of the significant restrictions and limitations that a person with a substance abuse disorder must live with on a daily basis. We have worked closely with top physicians in order to sufficiently satisfy a disability carrier’s threshold of evidence necessary to prove that a client is disabled due to a substance abuse disorder.

Not everyone suffering with substance abuse qualifies for long-term disability benefits, therefore the medical records of each client must be reviewed to determine the level of restrictions. Not every disability insurance policy provides coverage for substance abuse.

What Is Substance Abuse Disorder?

Substance abuse disorder is defined by meeting consistently a set number of criteria over 12 month period. According to the proposed revisions slated to appear in DSM-5, such criteria include:

  • repeated substance use resulting in a failure to carry out major responsibilities at work, school, or home
  • ongoing substance use even though interpersonal problems persist as a result of such use
  • higher amounts of the substance are consumed in order to achieve the same, previous effect
  • alcohol or drug use continues despite the user’s knowledge of the harmful effects caused by the excessive use of alcohol or drugs

Let’s say for a moment that you are struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. Over the course of time, you have been in and out of inpatient rehab along with making numerous follow-up visits to a psychiatrist and an AODA counselor due to the number of relapses that have occurred. During the follow-up visits to your psychiatrist, you are told that you have substance abuse disorder because your drug and alcohol abuse impairs your ability to function normally and hold down a job as result of substance abuse disorder. The evidence for such a diagnosis is clear to your psychiatrist since you changed jobs seven times in the past two years. The numerous job changes were due to the behavior associated with drug and alcohol addiction apart from consuming alcohol and ingesting drugs.

Substance-abuse disorder runs far deeper than simply giving in to drugs and alcohol. The mindset of an addict differs from the mindset of person who can function normally. A person who has a history of drug and alcohol abuse is prone to other mental disorders that cause long-term disability. Depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are mental disorders that can prevent a person from having the ability to hold down a job and lead a productive life.

In this case, your psychiatrist or AODA counselor might recommend that you file a long-term disability claim as result of your substance abuse disorder. Make sure the behavioral health specialists you see are on board with filing a long-term disability claim. A disability attorney will help you navigate all of the legal challenges you’ll face when you file a substance abuse disability claim. Our disability attorneys are trained to identify the strengths and potential weaknesses of your potential substance abuse disability claim.

Once your disability lawyer files your disability claim with your long-term disability insurance carrier, you don’t have to worry about dealing with the insurance carrier directly. All instances of communication with your long-term disability carrier will be handled through your disability attorney regarding your substance abuse this claim. That means you can focus on your recovery because you know your disability lawyer is working hard to obtain your disability benefits.

Resources

There are many valuable sources of substance abuse disorder information available, such as:

Resources to Help You Win Disability Benefits

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Disability Company Reviews
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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 >
Lincoln Financial

Well Documented correspondence

Reviewed by Joshua on November 23rd 2023   Verified Policyholder | May 2023 date of disability
I read other situations and it’s all very similar to my case. I have received STD from May 2023 and when my FMLA run out LF would not respond or answer my calls. My last... read more >
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.