What You Must Prove About Chronic Knee Disorder

A chronic knee disorder can develop from an inherent physical condition, a serious injury, or be the side effect of an illness. Knee pain and impairments of the knee joint can affect just about anyone.

How Do You Appeal a Denied Disability Claim for Knee Disorder?

You do not have to accept that your rightful claim has been denied. You can and should appeal the denial, but it is wise to accept that the process for appealing a denied claim for a knee disorder is complicated. It involves much more than writing back to the insurance company asking that they reconsider their decision. The burden of proof is on you to prove to the insurance company that you are entitled to disability benefits under your policy. Your appeal must present this proof.

Your insurer should provide the forms necessary to appeal your denied knee disorder disability claim. However, these forms are notoriously brief and without proper space to provide the kind of proof that will actually defeat an insurer’s denial strategy.

Disabled claimants are at a huge disadvantage at this stage. You need an attorney who understands the health and occupational issues associated with disabling knee disorders. You want a lawyer who deals with disability insurance companies every day and is prepared for an insurer’s denial tactics.

How Our Disability Attorneys Will Help

We engage daily in the practice of disability insurance law and know the case law that precedes disability cases like yours. Our attorneys will work with your physicians and other experts to get the evidence and records needed to prove you cannot sustain full-time employment.

We take the steps to provide exhaustive medical findings and diagnostic imaging, vocational evidence and expert opinions that explain your knee condition and why it prevents you from working. We assess any functional impairment to prove your lack of functional capacity to perform your job (or any job.)

Most of all, we make the entire process as easy as possible for you.

What You Must Prove About Chronic Knee Disorder

Knee impairments in disability insurance claims generally involve significant chronic pain and problems with motility, as would be experienced with:

• Major dysfunction of a joint
• Degenerative joint disease in one or both knees
• Inflammatory arthritis
• ACL injury (anterior cruciate ligament tear)
• Osteoarthritis
• Reconstructive knee surgery problems
• Fractures of the knee bones

Certainly, it is important for the disability claim appeal to demonstrate how difficult and painful it is to stand or walk for sustained periods of time. Just as important in a knee injury disability claim is proving that you are disabled from performing sedentary work.

With knee disorders, sitting upright in a chair with your feet on the floor can also be extremely difficult and painful. It is essential to provide evidence of this and other occupational strength and exertion requirements and limitations.

This prepares us for unreasonable opportunities insurers take to deny claims. If the insurer alleges that you are able to sit for eight hours a day in a sitting position and therefore are not disabled, we will be armed with legal arguments based on evidence and data.

To learn more about levels of occupational exertion and how insurance companies use this against you, see our post about “What Is the Dictionary of Occupational Titles in LTD Claims?”

Contact Us Today

If your claim for long term disability insurance benefits for knee pain or knee joint impairment was denied, you need an experienced attorney to get you the benefits you deserve. Call Mehr Fairbanks Trial Lawyers without delay, for a free evaluation of your claim: 800-249-3731.

We represent disability insurance claimants all over the United States and deal routinely with the “big deniers” of group and individual LTD insurance.