Our New Jersey disability lawyers can assist you with questions you have regarding your claim, no matter what insurance company is administering your case. Use the contact form located on our website to tell us about your claim and we will respond within 24 hours. Or, you may call us to give us the information over the telephone. Our sensitive, caring staff is eager to provide assistance. Disability lawyer Bonny Rafel handles ERISA(group)long term disability and individual disability insurance cases filed throughout the country. She is nationally recognized by her peers for her outstanding knowledge and experience in this specialty of law. Her high demand as a lecturer demonstrates her talent, see Articles and Engagements Section for some of her appearances and papers published on disability issues.

Presentation outline for specialized professional organizations

Unforeseen pitfalls when filing for disability :
what the agent never told you.


How much disability insurance is too much?
How does BOE insurance work?
What are the insurance companies entitled to investigate?
When to file a claim?

•    Do I wait until the disability prevents me from doing ALL the important duties of my occupation?
•    Do I wait until my income suffers?
•    Do I sell my practice before filing for disability?
•    Do I reorganize my practice so that I am doing more administrative work before filing? (DUAL OCCUPATION)
•    Who should I turn to for help and when

Examples:

1.    A chiropractor suffers from cervical herniated discs that begin to affect his ability to adjust patients.   He has always split his time between the adjustment work, physical therapy/massage, etc., his teaching at a local university and administrative tasks for his office.

What is his occupation in the eyes of the insurance company?
When did the impairment begin? 
When did the impairment affect his ability to perform?
What documents does the chiropractor have to divulge to the insurance company? Business tax returns? Malpractice licensing information? Amounts of patients? Billing? #s of adjustments per day? Share of the profits of the business? Hours worked?

2.    A  dentist purchases an occupational disability policy through the American Dental Association. He paid all premiums due under the policy.  He suffered an injury to his eye in an accident at work, causing a loss of vision in one eye, except for light perception.  His physician told him that he would never see again from that eye.  He loved dentistry, and continued to practice over the course of the next two years, reducing his patients, having extra assistance, but his income declined steadily.  He finally sold his practice, then filed for disability benefits.
Did he file too late for disability?
What was his occupation when he filed?
What was his income? Should he have notified the carrier when he received the diagnosis from his doctor?
 
The court, in a recent opinion, held that the dentist was not required to file for disability, until, he, in fact was unable to perform the material and substantial duties.  The dentist suffered from a continuing disability, so he was entitled to file at any time that the injury prevented him from working at his occupation. 
Potential problems:
•    inability of the carrier to investigate the claim
•    Dentist proves he can work with the disability since he continued to perform for so long.