We talked to a veteran lawyer about applying for disability insurance with Long COVID and ME (The Sick Times)

[Dolphin]

We talked to a veteran lawyer about applying for disability insurance with Long COVID and ME

Posted by

Betsy Ladyzhets

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December 3, 2024
Miles Griffis / The Sick Times

Since early in the pandemic, people with Long COVID have faced challenges in applying for disability benefits, including from their employers, insurance providers, and the U.S. Social Security Administration. Applications often take a long time and are denied even for people who clearly have debilitating symptoms, leading to years-long, arduous appeals processes. The same has been true decades prior to 2020 for people with other infection-associated chronic diseases.

To learn more about the disability insurance system, Betsy Ladyzhets spoke to Barbara Comerford, a long-time disability lawyer based in New Jersey who specializes in these cases. Comerford has represented people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome or CFS), for more than 30 years, including high-profile cases like that of journalist Brian Vastag.

Comerford discussed how the process works, her advice for putting together applications and appeals, how Long COVID has impacted her practice, and more. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Continues at:
https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/03...-disability-insurance-with-long-covid-and-me/

https://twitter.com/user/status/1865450552986853735

 

[Hutan]

It's an interesting read. One of the things that struck me was that the aim seems to be to show that the person is completely unable to work.

It seems to me that the process of gaining insurance compensation might wipe out many of our potentially most effective advocates. I mean, if you have gone through an arduous process in order to secure a comfortable income (and it will tend to be people who are well resourced in terms of education and connections, who are well organised and still able to function fairly well who are successful in achieving that), then you would not want to risk that by being a high profile advocate.

I don't know if the insurer could say a year or so down the track something like 'Ms X, you did three interviews last week and you have written 2 columns in the last month and we have a recording of you sitting outside Parliament building with a placard for two hours yesterday looking well dressed, noisy and energetic, clearly you aren't that disabled. Let's reconsider your insurance payout.'

It's so hard to get people to understand the fluctuating nature of the illness. Even if you had a period where you felt a bit better, perhaps you would not want to risk that insurance payout by sticking your head above the parapet? I don't know how this works, but I wonder how many potential very competent advocates we have effectively lost because they can't risk being seen to have activity levels and creative output, no matter how sporadically, that is not in line with the story that had to be presented as part of a successful insurance assessment.

It seems to me that the situation with ME/CFS is probably not the same as someone with, for example, multiple sclerosis. There, fluctuations in function might be better understood and of course there is objective evidence of brain damage.

 

[Dolphin]

Comerford’s tips for disability benefit applications:

• Comerford recommends that people applying for benefits extensively document their symptoms.
• Medical tests such as neuropsychiatric testing and cardiopulmonary exercise testing are her recommended method for documentation, though she acknowledges that these tests can be expensive.
• Comerford suggests that applicants should be careful to find lawyers and medical providers who have experience with these cases and won’t dismiss their symptoms.
• During the appeals process, Comerford recommends requesting a company’s administrative record and combing through it for any evidence that they abused judgement, cherry-picked evidence, or made other errors in assessing the case.
• Make sure to follow deadlines for filing appeals, as cases are closed if documents are not submitted on time.

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