Why Did the Appellant Challenge the Denial of her Disability Benefits as Bad Faith?

The claimant was a former respiratory therapist and a director at Athens Limestone Hospital before she ceased working on October 12, 2012, due to multiple health issues.The disabling conditions she claimed included:FibromyalgiaRheumatoid ArthritisChronic PainHer disabling conditions severely impacted her ability to perform her job. Specifically, her conditions led to:Intractable pain at multiple sitesAdrenal fatigueReduced range of motionFibromyalgia pain that confined her to bed one to three times a weekThese health issues made it impossible for the claimant to carry out the material duties of her occupation and significantly impaired her functional capacity, preventing her from returning to work.Due to her worsening health, she applied for long-term disability benefits. However, her insurance company, Life Insurance Company of North America (LINA), turned down her claim. They said she didn’t fit their definition of 'disabled,' which affected her chances of getting benefits after the first two years. This decision was backed up by various doctors and specialists, who said that the claimant could still do desk jobs and wasn’t limited in ways that would make her eligible for disability under the policy’s terms.Not happy with this decision, the claimant challenged LINA’s refusal to grant her benefits under the life policy's waiver of premium and long-term disability benefits. She argued that the insurer's view of her ability to work certain jobs didn't truly reflect her medical condition.This is the oral argument in the 11th circuit court of appeals.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.