If you are suffering from a mental health disability and your insurer tries to deny your claim without having a medical professional personally examine you, it is vital that you have a representative on your side who knows how to fight back.
In order to get the long term disability benefits that you need to live a relatively normal life, chances are good that you are going to need to provide substantial medical evidence and undergo numerous tests in order to prove you truly are suffering.
How frustrating is it, then, that in many cases insurance companies have the ability to reject your claim simply by looking at all of the documentation you’ve accumulated – and without ever having a professional conduct a personal examination of you – refute the evidence?
Paper reviews are a practice that many find to be lacking, including a number of courts. Unfortunately, this is something that is still widely accepted in disability cases in general, and you and your counsel may have to work hard to fight against it.
One major disability area where paper reviews are often not acceptable: mental health disability claims.
Why Not Use Paper Reviews for Mental Health Disability Cases?
First off, it’s important to note that some courts do allow paper reviews for these types of disabilities. However, paper reviews in disability claims are used far less often for examining mental impairments than for deciding claims related to physical impairments. But why?
It has been called “improper” and “unethical” to apply paper reviews because the diagnoses of so many mental health disorders is a subjective call. Doctors need to be able to meet with the psychiatric patients and observe them in order to formulate their medical opinion.
In fact, in the 2006 case of Westphal v. Eastman Kodak Co., the court explicitly stated that “psychiatric opinion that is based solely on a review of medical records is inherently less reliable than an opinion based on a face to face examination.”
For a free legal consultation, call 800-562-9830
We Can Help
Wrongful denials of mental health disability claims can be challenged and won. Marc Whitehead & Associates represents individuals nationwide against insurance companies who refuse to honor valid disability claims.
We have successfully handled many long term disability insurance cases just like yours, and we’ll do everything in our power to ensure you get the disability benefits you need.
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