Chicago Disability Attorneys Representing Doctors and Health Care Professionals
Doctors, physician assistants, nurses, and other health care professionals can face tremendous obstacles when they file a claim for disability insurance benefits. In many cases, the insurance company will deny the claim, asserting that your condition does not preclude you from performing your occupational duties. Or, the claims adjuster might argue that you’re only partially disabled and can continue to perform to some degree of professional capacity.
If the insurance company denied your disability insurance claim, it’s time to consult with a physician disability attorney at Bryant Legal Group. Our team has a long history of successfully representing physicians and getting them the benefits they deserve.
Don't fight the insurance company alone.
Trusted by Health Care Professionals Across Chicago and the Country
Our lawyers focus their practice on disability insurance claims, especially individual policies like those sold by UNUM, Northwestern Mutual, and Principal. We understand the nuances and complexities of physician disability claims and have recovered millions in unpaid benefits for our clients.
Our Settlements and Verdicts
Our experienced team has helped professionals across Chicago and Illinois recover millions in unpaid benefits and compensation. Bryant Legal Group takes a practical approach, focusing on your needs
After our client’s disability insurance benefits were improperly terminated, we negotiated a $1.6 million settlement for him.
Our medical practice team recovered $500,000 for a physician group when an insurer failed to properly reimburse them for their services.
We collected $440,000 in unpaid disability insurance benefits for our client and got her LTD benefits reinstated by proving she was disabled from any occupation.
Are You Eligible for Disability Insurance Benefits?
Practicing medicine, especially in recent years, can take a toll on your physical and emotional health. In addition to medical conditions like degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis, we are seeing more and more physicians file long term disability claims due to degenerative neurological conditions as well as burnout (which is often shorthand for anxiety, depression, and even post-traumatic stress disorder).
To be eligible for long-term disability benefits, doctors, PAs, and other medical professionals must prove that they are disabled under their insurance policy. Depending on the terms of your long-term disability plan, the definition of disability can vary.
- Own occupation: Your medical conditions make it impossible to do your most recent job (as you performed it).
- Own specialty: You cannot work within your specific specialty due to your health issues.
- Any occupation: You are totally disabled and unable to do any type of work, including relatively unskilled and simple jobs.
If you purchased an individual or private policy, there is a good chance that you selected an “own occupation” or “own specialty” plan. Depending on the language of your policy, you might even be entitled to disability benefits or partial benefits if you return to work. However, if you have an employer-funded plan, there’s a good chance it contains “any occupation” language.
Before you apply for disability benefits, you should always check the terms and conditions of your policy—and if you need help translating its fine print, contact our office.
You will also need evidence that supports your disability claim. This might include medical records, your work history, and other information. A disability lawyer at Bryant Legal Group can help you compile this information, connect with the right specialists, and help you strengthen your long-term disability claim.
RELATED: “Own Occupation” Disability Insurance Policies: A Guide for Doctors
Insurance Companies Often Mischaracterize Doctors’ Work
While physicians and other medical professionals may be able to work with a degenerative condition for months or even years by reducing their occupational duties as the condition worsens, they still may be eligible to collect disability insurance benefits.
Suppose a neurosurgeon can no longer perform surgery but continues to see patients in a clinical setting and takes on the role of the practice administrator. Even though the surgeon is still working, they are doing so at a limited capacity with a lower salary. In most cases if the reduction in income is 20% or more, the surgeon may be entitled to receive payments under a residual or partial disability policy.
The problem is that when the surgeon changes their occupational duties within the practice over several years, the insurance carrier may attempt to redefine the surgeon’s role at a lower threshold and deny their claim. In doing so, the carrier will likely assert that the surgeon was a “practice administrator” at the time of his or her disability, making it much harder to collect the residual loss under the disability insurance policy.
In these cases, a disability lawyer at Bryant Legal Group might be able to dispute the denied claim and get the neurosurgeon the financial support they deserve.
Looking for Help With Social Security Disability Benefits?
Please note that Bryant Legal Group does not handle standalone Social Security Administration. We represent professionals in disputes involving disability insurance companies like UNUM, Lincoln Financial and Northwestern Mutual.
If you need assistance with a Social Security disability claim, we will happily refer you to a firm that focuses on these administrative claims. However, if you have questions about your rights after the improper denial of your long-term disability benefits or short-term disability benefits, contact our office.
Bryant Legal Group: Helping Medical Professionals Recover the Disability Insurance Benefits They Deserve
Bryant Legal Group’s disability insurance attorneys have extensive experience helping anesthesiologists, surgeons, doctors, physician assistants, nurses and other medical professionals collect the benefits they are rightfully owed. We use our knowledge of disability insurance law and the tactics used by carriers to help our clients protect their rights and benefits.
We have a deep understanding of the own occupation insurance policies held by most medical professionals. We work with medical professionals across all specialties to file claims that meet the definition of a disability under their carriers’ policies. Our team is well aware of the level of specificity that insurance companies demand and will work with your medical providers to produce the documentation needed to get you the benefits you paid for. We can also help you secure the appropriate additional diagnostic testing (like functional capacity testing, neurocognitive testing, quantitative EEGs, and other additional tests) to help support your doctor’s opinion on your disability.
The disability attorneys at Bryant Legal Group also understand how different insurance policies can work together or at odds. We believe it is critical to coordinate claims for different benefits – individual insurance policy disability claims, group short- and long-term disability benefits, life insurance waiver of premium claims, and business overhead expense claims. All these policies can have different notice requirements and deadlines and different definitions of disability.
We pride ourselves in maximizing our clients’ access to the benefits that they have paid for by assisting in keeping claims information clear and consistent.
Do You Have Questions About your Disability Insurance Claim?
Contact Bryant Legal Group Today
Whether your disability is due to an injury, illness or degenerative medical condition, when you work in the medical profession, it is critical to make sure you are taking the right measures to protect yourself today and into the future.
The Chicago disability lawyers at Bryant Legal Group know what you are going through and are here to help you every step of the way. We will carefully review your situation and advise you on all benefits that you may be entitled to collect. Our team will act discreetly and work to preserve your privacy throughout the course of our representation.
Call 312-313-6179, complete our simple online form, or email info@bryantlg.com to schedule your confidential consultation.
The content provided is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject
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