The Long Term Disability Adjuster Wants to Take My Statement or Come To My House! How Can I Protect Myself?

Quite frankly, if the a long-term disability or ERISA carrier calls and askes to take your statement or arrange a field visit you are in trouble!

In my experience, disability claims are denied, generally, for three reasons:

1. No objective evidence of your diagnosis;

2. No objective evidence of your disability;

3. No evidence of causal relationship between your disability and your inability to engage in your own occupation or any occupation.

The long-term disability or ERISA carrier wants to take your statement or arrange a field visit because they question what your doctor says about your restrictions and limitations and what you are reporting on your Activities of Daily Living forms that you are asked to complete.

They also question your reported disability and your inability to engage in your own occupation or any occupation.

Unfortunately, by the time the long-term disability or ERISA carrier asks to take your statement or have a field visit with you they probably have done surveillance on you. They want to interview you and have you describe your activities. Once you've done so, they'll have you sign a statement about your activities. As soon as you sign the statement, they spring surveillance on you and then ask you to comment on the surveillance. They want you to acknowledge the difference between the statement you just gave and what is shown on the film.

The long-term disability/ERISA carrier will then take that information to your treating physicians and ask them to sign off on a letter that says you're capable of least sedentary work.

They have sprung a trap on you for the purposes of painting you a malingerer or fraud with the sole purpose of terminating your benefits.

It is my strong recommendation that if you are asked to give a statement or the carrier wants to have a field visit that you need to immediately retain an experienced long-term disability/ERISA attorney, like Nancy Cavey.

You need to be prepared! You need to have someone with you to make sure that the questions you are asked are not open-ended questions. You need to have someone with you to make sure that your answers are accurate. You need to have a statement and field visit done in a neutral location.

I never let a statement or feel visit be done at my client's home. I often see statement summaries with questions and comments about how your yard and house look. You will be, innocently, asked about how you keep up with your house or yard work. They would use that information to draw conclusions about your inability to work.

You should have Florida long term disability insurance lawyer/ERISA attorney, Nancy Cavey, prepare you for your statement and field visit.

In the following articles, I will go through the questions that you will most likely be asked in a statement or field visit. This should help you prepare for and avoid making mistakes that can jeopardize or even destroy your case.

Answering these broad-based questions isn't easy. Help is a phone call away. You can contact Nancy Cavey, an experienced long-term disability attorney at 727-894-3188.