You get one shot

So why is the appeal so important? Why should you get help with filing an appeal if you have a denied disability claim?

The most important reason why you need to put in a strong appeal is that with Hartford, you only get one shot. An ERISA denial can be beaten, but you’ll need a good disability attorney. The appeal essentially is your trial in front of a judge. If the appeal is denied then all the judge will see is the administrative record. So, they won’t get any new testimony. You can’t file anything new, and the judge won’t get to meet the claimant. So, everything you want to show the judge needs to be in the appeal itself. That’s why it’s crucial that you hire a disability insurance attorney. With that being said, there are a lot of important elements in an appeal against Hartford for long term disability insurance.

Elements to an appeal

One of the most important elements is doctor support and making sure that you have a well-written doctor support letter. It needs to state that your restrictions and limitations are supported and that you have a good VOC rehab with expert support. Insurance companies also look for specific language in the appeals. They want to see that the medical records coincide with what the doctors are writing in their attending physician statements. That means a great letter on its own but no other documentation prior to that won’t help you. That’s also why appeals may be filed within 180 days, which allows enough time for the doctor to see the patient several times. This helps build the case and provides extra medical documentation over the course of several months. However, some may not have that much time.

Filing an appeal on short notice

What do you do if a claimant only has 60 days of 90 days left to file an appeal? In that case, your attorney will speak with the doctor(s) and explain the importance of what they need to put in their medical records and the attending physician statement. That means the attorney can actually help the doctor prepare those attending physician statements and review them before they go to the insurance carrier. That avoids the common problem encountered when a claimant hands the doctor the statement form, the doctor fills it out, then it goes directly to the insurance carrier. Often times those doctors aren’t trained on how to fill those forms out and that may lead to the claim being denied.

Custom statements are key

Another problem is that claimants often are given a generic form for their doctor to fill out. However, disability insurance attorneys Dell & Schaefer have built customized attending physician statements over the years according to the specific medical condition as well as the job qualifications of that person’s job. That means the custom forms help the doctor hit the buzzwords and other important things that Dell & Schaefer have learned over the years.

Vocational Reports

As we’ve seen, proper medical support is important, but vocational reports are as well. Vocational reports are very important in an appeal because we hire experts who do this all the time. What vocational experts will do is take the claimant’s job descriptions and look at the medical records. With this information, they produce a report stating whether or not you’re able or capable of doing your job. It’s very important because they look at the specific job description, what you’re able to do if you have to sit for long periods, stand for long periods and more. All of this information is written into a pretty long report and it’s strong support of the appeal on top of the medical support.

Personal Statements

The last thing to consider are personal statements. These allow the claimant to craft a personal statement to take the stand and say, this is how I feel, this is why I can’t work, and this is what my day is like. At the end of the day, there is a human being who is reading that appeal and it will have an impact on the judge. Also, crafting statements from family, past co-workers, and other relevant individuals help a lot too. All of this will help you win the appeal and get that disability insurance benefit.

Please call our disability attorneys for a free consultation and response the same day. Your claim will cost you nothing unless you win and get paid. Consultations can be done over the phone and cover claimants nationwide.

We have a detailed page about Hartford disability appeals on our website and you will find it useful: https://www.diattorney.com/hartford/disability-appeal/