Success With Disability Claims for ER Doctors

Success With Long Term Disability Claims for ER Doctors

Bartolic Law has worked with many kinds of Physicians in pursuing long-term disability insurance claims, advising them on their rights and obligations under the policies, and strategic planning during disability to maximize overall income and preserve the policies’ protections. In some cases, we worked with the client in structuring the claim, as accurately documenting a doctor’s duties and tasks often involves review of historical billing and procedure codes. We have challenged denials and adverse decisions based on whether the client was disabled, or the amount of the benefit. We have also advised physicians on disability contemplating a return to work in a reduced capacity or different role, protecting as much of the client’s future income as possible.

In one case, we worked with a physician who had become disabled and wanted to accept a new role in research, instead of clinical practice. Because changing employers would subject the client to a new policy’s pre-existing condition exclusion for 12 months, we advised the doctor through the benefits and drawbacks of working in a new role for the same employer, where the doctor would remain covered under the same policy, and a new employer, where the doctor would lose coverage under the policy if the compensation exceeded a certain threshold. This strategic planning helped the client maximize total income between partial disability and the substitute employment.