Long Term Disability Benefits Paid Due to Chronic Back Pain from Failed Back Surgery
Long term disability benefits became necessary for Joe who was a vigorous 50 year old. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed skiing and motorcycle riding.
A few years ago Joe underwent a spinal fusion for the purpose of alleviating degenerative disc disease which caused nerve impingement leading to chronic pain. Sometimes this type of surgery is not successful. The ensuing medical condition is called is failed back surgery or Post-Lamicetomy Syndrome. The exact cause varies but often the cause is the spinal nerve root, which has been decompressed by the surgery, fails to recover from its prior trauma and continues to be a source of chronic nerve pain. This is the condition Joe finds himself facing daily.
Joe was is in chronic pain. Chronic pain is debilitating.
Many activities of daily living are a major challenging. Working in his prior high earning position is out of the question, and so is a less rigorous job. Joe never knows when he has enough stamina to get through the day without the need for a long nap, and he needs the flexibility to lie down and to stretch, or to move about for hours in an effort to reduce his pain. Like many chronic pain suffers getting through each day is tough enough, working full-time or even part-time, on a regular basis in any occupation is virtually impossible. Joe filed for disability benefits on his own. Ignoring his debilitating condition the insurance company insisted he was not disabled and could perform duties required by his job. His insurer denied his claim for long term disability benefits for years. Finally, Joe retained Jonathan Feigenbaum for assistance.
Jonathan took over and immediately got to work. Based on his years of experience and knowledge of how insurance companies work he wrote an extensive appeal of Joe’s claim denial. He submitted functional capacity evaluations and thorough supporting documentation from medical professionals and coworkers supporting Joe’s claim, Jonathan convinced the insurance company that denying Joe’s claim was wrong.
Jonathan won the appeal. Joe’s denial for long term disability benefits was overturned. He was awarded almost two years of retroactive long term disability benefits and the insurance company continues to pay the claim.
Jonathan still represents Joe to make sure that he continues to receive the benefits Joe deserves which he earned in exchange for the services he provided to his employer for years.
