Pain is often a key factor in disability claims. The Social Security Administration has established guidelines for the assessment of pain as a factor in determining disability (20 C.F.R. Section 404.1529), and the influential Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (6th edition 2008) published by the American Medical Association looks to the following: Congruence […]
Many disability insurance plans require objective proof of disability as a condition of receiving benefits. But what happens when a claimant suffers from a condition that cannot be diagnosed by objective testing. Migraine headaches constitute such a condition. More than 10 percent of the world’s adult population are afflicted by migraine headaches annually, according to […]
Qualifying for disability benefits based on headaches or other disorders that are so painful that narcotic medications are prescribed can be a major challenge. Since there is no objective way to measure pain and because most migraine and cluster headaches are impossible to diagnose with objective testing such as MRI studies, disability insurers often resist […]
DeBofsky, Sherman & Casciari recently won the case of Warner v. Unum Life Ins. Co., No. 12 C 02782, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178765 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 31, 2014), where the district court granted summary judgment for the plaintiff, ruling that Unum Life Insurance Company (“Unum”) acted arbitrarily and capriciously by disregarding the results of […]
A ruling won by DeBofsky, Sherman & Casciari, Curtis v. Hartford Life & Acc.Ins.Co., 2014 WL 485233 (N.D.Ill. August 20, 2014) illustrates the importance of considering the combined impact of more than one medical condition in determining disability.
A recent DeBofsky, Sherman & Casciari victory, Cheney v. Standard Ins.Co., 2014 WL 4259861 (N.D.Ill. August 28, 2014) illustrates the concept of being disabled while still working and thus qualifying for disability insurance benefits. The plaintiff, Carole Cheney, was a non-equity partner at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, LLP who specialized in appellate […]