Substance Abuse Disability Insurance Claims Are Challenging When the Claimant Is a Doctor

Substance abuse disorder is a major problem throughout our country and it is a disease that can happen to anyone. Unfortunately doctors working in high stress environments have a high incidence of either alcohol or pain medicine addiction. The claims for doctors are difficult as a substance abuse disorder often results in an event in the workplace and then the doctor has medical licensing issues with the state medical board. The claimant will often complete a treatment program and the disability company will immediately try to argue that the claimant is ready to return to work.

In most cases the claimant is stable, but stable does not mean return to the same stressful work environment that likely contributed to the medical condition. The disability company will attempt to argue that a risk of relapse is not a disabling condition. A treating physician will often recommend that a disabled doctor change their career choice if it is believed that the work environment has a detrimental affect on the claimant’s health.

In the video, disability insurance attorneys Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup discuss their experience in helping doctors with substance abuse disorder to obtain long term disability benefits. Please contact any of our disability insurance attorneys for a free confidential phone consultation. We represent claimants nationwide.