C-Suite Disability Insurance Claims – CEO, CFO, CIO, CMO
We have helped disabled people of all occupations, including company leaders at the C-suite level. When disability occurs, due to sickness or an injury, the last thing on your mind should be having to battle your disability insurance company for long term disability insurance benefits. At Newfield Law Group, we handle these issues for our clients so they can focus on their health. Just as every occupation is different, every disability insurance claim is different. However, all disability insurance claims need an approach and focus to prove the claim upon what the insured claimant cannot do as a result of their condition – and what supports their claim for benefits.
C-Suite executives carry important roles and often have stressful occupations, and typically are travelling often. These important work duties will often be impacted by an array of medical conditions. Clients have suffered cardiac impairments and needed to stop travel as an important medical restriction supported by their cardiologist. Other clients have suffered mental health claims due to the stress and pressures of the work. Supported by their mental health providers, we have navigated these claims for many clients.
Some of our clients who have been involved in the purchase of the disability insurance coverage never expected they themselves would go through this process, or that their disability claim would be denied. Many times, they were unaware of the specific terms, limitations, and exclusions that governed the policy.
Jason Newfield represented a CEO for a large retail furniture store in his late 30s who suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia, among other co-morbid conditions. Despite his disability, he continued to work for more than fourteen years, determined not to let his illness impact his career. When at last he did file a claim for disability benefits, his group disability insurance company and his ERISA policy with Aetna used his history of continuing to work against him. The disability insurance companies declared he could continue to work and did not have functional deficits, despite the deterioration of his health. His claim was denied, and he worked directly with Jason Newfield, Esq., to secure his justly due benefits.
Our challenge was to prove how his medical condition had worsened over time and how it served to impair him from performing the multiple high-level functions of his job. He had undergone numerous treatments over the years to gain relief from the daily pain and fatigue he experienced on a daily basis, but none of the medical modalities worked effectively, and over time, he could not continue.
He also suffered from numerous other conditions, including severe muscle spasms, sleep issues including insomnia and non-restorative sleep, muscle twitching, as well as costochondritis (rib pain). The chronic pain, severe fatigue, and side effects from pharmaceutical medications made it impossible for him to perform in a high-stress, high-stakes job. While he could have filed a claim for disability benefits at any time during the fourteen years of his illness, he was determined to continue working and refused to give up a career and income he enjoyed. Aetna used cognitive testing to allege that he was malingering, but his cognitive challenges were significant, and we were able to overcome this obstacle.
Jason Newfield worked directly with the claimant’s therapists and medical providers, who witnessed and documented his deteriorating cognitive and memory abilities and the array of functional deficits. Detailed medical reports were provided. A narrative of anecdotal evidence supporting the impact of the medical impairments was crafted to clearly show his inability to perform his job. Because of the overwhelming support presented, the appeal was successful, and we recovered past benefits as well. The former CEO continues to be on claim and can now focus on his health.
While all claims are different and unique, the approach taken to succeed for our clients remains tried and true over two decades. We collaborate with our clients and their doctors to develop the support, through testing and other methods, to demonstrate impairment and how and why our clients’ medical conditions render them disabled.
How Can You Protect Yourself At Claim Time?
Before you intend to file a claim, you should understand and appreciate what your coverage provides, as well as what limitations, if any, may exist, to consider any concerns you might have with the claim. It will allow you to most comprehensively consider how best to pursue the claim process. We invite you to call Newfield Law Group for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your claim issues. We are a national firm, based in New York. During our conversation, we will be able to give you information about your claim, the insurance company, and what your options are to combat the disability insurance company in its effort to deny or terminate your claim.