Our client came to us after a claim denial from Lincoln Financial. A successful Science and Regulatory Manager at a major health company, when he was unable to work, he filed his claim and provided all support requested by his insurance company, for which premiums had been paid over several years.
Shocked that they refused to pay, we explored his issues and took this interesting appeal on. He was suffering from symptoms characterized as similar to “Havana Syndrome,” which causes significant impairment across numerous symptoms and often result in pervasive headaches, unbearable pain, and other manifestations. Our client, age 56, had been successful when his career was abruptly ended by the significance of his symptoms, which were largely debilitating and rendered him completely unable to work in any job. Despite the severity, Lincoln Financial chose to minimize his problems, ignore his subjective complaints, and refused to credit his doctor.
Havana Syndrome is controversial, as the government continues to deny that it exists, or that electromagnetic energy weaponry is being utilized. Literature runs the spectrum on the issues, and a community of advocates is emerging, yet it remains underappreciated. It may be organic brain injury, but its manifestations are differ than other brain injuries. He suffered from some auditory-vestibular disorder. Lincoln and its hired doctors took the position that because Havana Syndrome was a cluster of “idiopathic” symptoms, it did not need to credit ANY of his symptoms, despite how pervasive, frequent, and intense.
He suffered unpredictable attacks, which caused him to need to scream and rest, and which frustrated his ability to engage in any sustained activity. He was compelled to take significant pain medications, but his disability insurance company took no interest in appreciating the significance of his challenges. Nor would they credit his vestibular dysfunction, despite evidence revealing its significance.
To succeed with his appeal, we identified that cognitive testing was necessary to support his impairments, since Lincoln was largely ignoring his documented and subjective symptoms or believing it was psychogenic and not real. We were able to create audio files of his manifestations, which resulted in screaming attacks that would offer last for several minutes.
Coupled with the objective results from the cognitive testing, we were able to work with his treating physician to ascribe further limitations that were verifiable to the additional symptoms, restrictions and limitations which had been supported throughout to demonstrate to Lincoln the severity of our client’s impairments.
Despite the awkward working diagnosis of Havana Syndrome, despite our client not having been to Cuba, where Havana Syndrome has been claimed to originate, his symptoms and manifestations resulted in his impairment, regardless of his condition’s name. We advise clients regularly that the name of the diagnosis is not nearly as important – if at all – compared to the symptoms, restrictions and limitations that result from the condition, regardless of name.
Lincoin noted the significant support provided and appreciated that it could not sustain its weak claim position in litigation, compelling it to overturn its claim decision and pay benefits to our client.