A Pennsylvania Chronic Pain Attorney Works to Secure Disability Insurance Benefits for Injured Professionals
Chronic pain can be insidious, progressive and disabling. It’s always there, gnawing away at physical function, and eroding mental resolve and emotional stability. It often grows worse over time, sometimes gradually and sometimes with rapid intensity.
Medications and some procedures can temporarily keep pain at manageable levels, but those options often become less effective over time, and the agony of chronic pain worsens. Pain can become so intense that it prevents you from moving or even sitting comfortably. It can interfere with your ability to concentrate, to focus, and to reason. When that happens, it becomes impossible for a professional to work effectively. In fact, working with this type of distraction could lead to mistakes and malpractice liability.
For these reasons, professionals suffering from chronic pain should be able to receive benefits from long-term disability insurance when covered. However, insurance companies frequently deny these claims. Working with a knowledgeable Pennsylvania chronic pain attorney at Seltzer & Associates can help professionals facing this challenge obtain the group and/or individual long term disability benefits they deserve under their disability insurance policies.
Understanding Chronic Pain
Chronic pain can be categorized differently, and that is one reason why insurance companies find ways to deny disability claims that are based on the debilitating effects of pain. Some medical professionals define pain as chronic when it lasts for three months or more. Others define it as pain that extends beyond the normal healing time for a particular condition.
The Body’s Perception of Pain
Chronic pain often occurs when the body’s nervous system continues to send pain signals after a specific injury has healed. This can occur due to nerve damage, inflammation, or changes that occur in the brain and nervous system. The nervous system can essentially become hypersensitive and fire signals to the brain even if an injury has healed physically. Or, the brain can effectively rewire connections to establish new neural pathways that are more sensitive to pain. The brain then processes signals more quickly and may misinterpret harmless signals as pain.
Of course, chronic pain can also occur because the cause of the pain has not healed. It may continually become reinjured or inflamed, putting pressure on nerves. In some situations, immune cells also trigger chemical responses that lead to nerve irritation and persistent pain.
Conditions and Factors That Commonly Lead to Persistent Pain
Although chronic pain can result from a wide variety of injuries and conditions, certain factors are known to lead to persistent pain in patients, particularly as they age. The conditions include:
- A severe traumatic injury, such as damage to the spine from a car accident or fall
- Chronic conditions such as arthritis, infections, and cancer
- Damage to nerves
- Long-term strains caused by factors such as repetitive motions or poor posture
- Environmental and psychological factors such as severe stress, emotional trauma, anxiety, or depression
- Disorders such as fibromyalgia and complex regional pain syndrome
Doctors also frequently see chronic pain develop without an initial injury or other identifiable cause. Because pain cannot be seen or reliably measured, it can be difficult to prove. This allows insurance companies to deny or terminate disability claims for patients suffering from chronic pain. However, a skilled Pennsylvania chronic pain attorney will know how to present evidence demonstrating the impact of chronic pain and why a professional should be eligible for disability benefits.
The Impact of Chronic Pain on Professionals
Chronic pain can have a tremendous impact on the ability to work productively and with the required competence expected of a professional. Even when a professional tries to hide the pain or work through it, those suffering from chronic pain miss work on a regular basis or reduce their work hours. This can cause strain in a professional practice, and it also frequently leads to mental health problems, including anxiety and depression.
Pain interferes with both physical and mental performance. Healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurse anesthetists, and dentists, frequently suffer burnout due to the physical, mental, and emotional impact of chronic pain.
FAQs About Chronic Pain and Disability Insurance Claims
What should I do to succeed with a claim for disability benefits when chronic pain prevents me from working?
Because disability insurance companies are quick to find reasons to deny claims, it is important to prepare and present solid evidence to demonstrate why a disabling condition qualifies you for benefits. A knowledgeable Pennsylvania chronic pain attorney who understands strategies for effective disability insurance recovery can help compile the most compelling medical evidence and present arguments in the claimant’s favor.
My pain doesn’t show up on an MRI. Can I still qualify?
In some cases, evidence of consistent treatment is effective in demonstrating the impact of chronic pain even when the source of the pain is disputed or not visible on medical imaging. There may be other forms of evidence to demonstrate the impacts as well.
What is the difference between “Own Occupation” and “Any Occupation?”
Disability insurance policies that provide pure “own occupation” coverage pay benefits when a professional is unable to work in a specific occupation, professional specialty or sub-specialty. By contrast, “any occupation policies” generally do not pay benefits until a claimant has proven that they are unable to work in any occupation for which they are qualified by education, experience or training.
I’ve spent years “pushing through” the pain. Will this hurt my claim?
This is a common situation for professionals who have dedicated their lives to excelling in a specific field. At Seltzer & Associates, we know that disability insurance companies often use doomed attempts to work through chronic pain as grounds to deny its existence or severity, but we also know how to present evidence to overcome these issues.
When Chronic Pain Interferes with Your Ability to Practice, Find Out How a Pennsylvania Chronic Pain Attorney Can Help with Your Disability Insurance Claim
Professionals who have invested years of their lives developing the skills and acquiring the knowledge to perform at a high level are never inclined to acknowledge physical limitations. They sometimes push themselves to the absolute breaking point before they are willing to concede the limitations caused by their chronic pain. At that point, a necessary claim for group and/or individual disability benefits may be unreasonably contested by the disability insurance company administering the claim.
That’s why we dedicated our practice to helping professionals in these situations receive the benefits they are owed under their disability insurance policies. To find out how we can help with your claim, call us at 888-699-4222 or contact us online to speak with a Pennsylvania chronic pain attorney at Seltzer & Associates.