At the Ortiz Law Firm, we understand how frustrating it can be when an insurance company wrongly denies your disability claim. A case in point is a recent appeal we handled for a Navy Federal Credit Union customer service representative whose short-term and long-term disability benefits were both in question by New York Life Group Benefit Solutions.
Our client struggled with debilitating migraines that were so severe that she was unable to work. She followed her doctors’ recommendations and underwent various tests to rule out other possible conditions. However, while some of these tests came back ‘normal’, others showed exactly why she was unable to work.
Unfortunately, her short-term disability provider, New York Life, cherry-picked the records that suited them and used the ‘normal’ test results as a reason to deny her claim, while ignoring the medical evidence that proved she was indeed disabled during that time.
Despite this denial, our client remained under the care of her doctors and gradually improved. As her migraines became less frequent and more manageable, she returned to work. However, this didn’t change the fact that she was entitled to short-term disability benefits for the time she was unable to work.
While preparing her appeal of the short-term disability denial, we noticed something else. Her time away from work wasn’t just limited to just the short-term disability period—it also overlapped into a month that qualified her for long-term disability benefits. So, we took action. We appealed her short-term disability denial and filed a separate claim for long-term disability benefits for the time her disability extended beyond the short-term coverage.
What happened next illustrates the frustrating inconsistency that can come with dealing with disability insurance providers. While New York Life continued to look for reasons to deny her short-term disability claim, the long-term disability provider saw the situation clearly. They recognized that our client was too sick to work and approved her one month of long-term disability benefits without hesitation.
Ironically, the approval of her long-term disability benefits forced the short-term disability provider to reconsider. They reluctantly approved her full short-term disability benefits after her long-term disability had already been approved.
This case illustrates the importance of having an experienced legal team to review your disability claim from all angles. Sometimes, what seems like a simple short-term disability denial can have broader implications. Without careful review and action, our client may have missed out on the benefits to which she was entitled to during her recovery period.
If you find yourself in a similar situation dealing with denied disability benefits, don’t go it alone. Insurance companies often overlook critical details, but at the Ortiz Law Firm, we don’t. We will fight for the benefits our clients deserve. Contact us if you need help with your claim. We’re here to help.