Eight Circuit Reviews Charcot Marie Tooth Syndrome Claim and Remands on Standard of Review

The oral argument focuses on the case of a claimant who has lived with Charcot Marie Tooth Syndrome (CMT), a degenerative neurological condition. She worked as a nurse at the Mayo Clinic Health System from 2003 to 2011. Her condition, particularly noted in her legs, led to muscle atrophy. Her treating doctor  has observed the progression of her CMT for over four years. By 2011, her condition worsened and then stabilized, meaning it ceased to worsen but did not improve. As of March 14, 2016, the claimant struggled with tasks for more than half an hour due to severe pain and fatigue.In response to the claimant's appeal for long-term disability benefits, a Rehabilitation Consultant, Kate Schrot, was hired to assess her employment prospects. Schrot's evaluation acknowledged that the claimant could perform certain tasks, as evidenced by surveillance, but only sporadically, not consistently enough for full-time employment. Surveillance confirmed the claimant's limitations, showing her limited activity and consistency with her reported disability. The treating doctor's medical opinion, noting the medication-induced drowsiness and chronic pain, further supported her claim, suggesting that the evidence for terminating her benefits is insufficient.The trial court's opinion highlighted the shortcomings in the defense expert's analysis regarding the claimant's capacity to work full-time. Despite acknowledging the severe pain and concentration issues due to Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome, the defense doctor failed to consider how her pain would impact her ability to perform sedentary work. This oversight was deemed unreasonable for determining her benefit eligibility. The opinion also noted contradictions in the defense doctor's assessment, particularly against Dr. Tseng's view that McIntyre couldn't work for more than half an hour on any task. The court reasoned that frequent breaks would reduce McIntyre's working hours significantly, qualifying her for benefits.These public domain recordings are brought to you by Ben Glass Law, a national long term disability and life insurance firm headquartered in Fairfax, VA.By making these recordings into a "podcast," we've made the listening easier for claimants, attorneys and claims adjusters alike. If long term disability or life insurance benefits have been denied, we'd love to review your denial letter and give you a strategy for moving forward. This is a free service and you can go here to begin submitting your denial letter.