Aetna Long-Term Disability Appeals & Lawsuits

Being unable to work due to a disability is terrifying. This is especially true if you have been denied disability benefits by an insurance company like Aetna. How are you going to pay your bills and take care of your family? 

Unfortunately, ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act) governs most LTD insurance policies through your employer. ERISA laws give insurance companies like Aetna broad discretion to approve or deny long-term disability claims. Insurance companies often use ERISA provisions to unjustly deny LTD claims to prevent employees from receiving the long-term insurance benefits they deserve.

Short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) insurance are supposed to provide benefits if you become disabled. If your disability policy was denied by Aetna, you may be wondering what to do next. Can you appeal Aetna's denial or file suit? Do you need an Aetna disability denial lawyer to help you with an appeal?  Our ERISA disability law firm handles claims that are wrongfully denied by Aetna and can help guide you on what to do next.

Talk to Our Aetna Disability Lawyer About Your Rights

AETNA Disability Insurance

If your disability claim has been denied by Aetna, contact our Aetna disability denial attorney.

Our disability attorney is licensed in Missouri and Kansas and handles insurance claims, appeals and litigation throughout both states. Since ERISA is a federal law, we are able to assist clients with ERISA disability claims and appeals nationwide at no extra cost with the assistance of local counsel and approval of the court.

We understand ERISA laws and can help you fight unfair and unjust insurance tactics to help you get the LTD insurance benefits you deserve. Speak with an Aetna disability denial attorney about your disability claim today by calling our office at 816-203-0143.

How Our Aetna Disability Denial Lawyer Can Help

If your Kansas City Aetna disability claim has been denied, we want to help. Below are three ways we can help you right now:

1.  Free Review of Your Aetna Denial Letter

Understanding your denial letter is crucial. The details of your denial letter provide deadlines and other information that you need to know to appeal your LTD denial. Our ERISA disability denial attorneys review your denial letter free of charge

You are under no obligation to hire our firm. We want to ensure you understand your options. If you have already filed an administrative appeal, our lawyers can discuss your remaining options. However, we strongly recommend that you do not file an appeal without experienced legal counsel. 

2.  Request a Free Copy of Our Disability Guide

Learn more about long-term disability claims, denials, and appeals in our free disability guide. Get tips and strategies that can help you get your LTD benefits reinstated by Aetna. The book is free of charge.

In our guide, Danger: Proceed at Your Own Risk, we provide essential information about long-term disability claims such as:

  • The myths and truth about long-term disability insurance.Long-Term Disability Guide and information
  • How are ERISA claims different from other LTD claims?
  • Why ERISA laws give Aetna and other insurance companies an unfair advantage?
  • The steps you need to take to protect your rights after receiving a denial letter.
  • The most important step you can take to get the LTD benefits you need and much MORE.

You can also browse our extensive library of articles and FAQs about long-term disability claims on our website. 

3.  Call 816-203-0143 now to schedule a consultation with an Aetna disability denial attorney in Kansas City. 

Our Kansas City long-term disability attorneys are ready to help you fight Aetna for the benefits you deserve. We can answer your questions and can assist you with the administrative appeal for a nominal fee. We work with local attorneys nationwide on ERISA disability cases at no additional charge.

Why Did Aetna Deny Your Long-Term Disability Claim?

Insurance companies, including Aetna, are in business to earn a profit. The larger the profit, the better for the company. Therefore, paying long-term disability claims is not in the company’s best interest. Paying long-term disability benefits is simply another expense to Aetna's bottomline.

Aetna claims adjusters are trained to look for ways to deny long-term disability claims whenever possible. In some cases, an insurance company like Aetna may use unfair tactics to try to deny LTD claims. 

Some of the reasons that Aetna may give you for denying your LTD claim include, but are not limited to:

  • Alleging that there is not sufficient medical evidence to prove you are disabled.
  • Hiring insurance physicians to refute the findings of your physicians.
  • Require that you complete a Transitional Skills Analysis (TSA) or Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) to try to show you can perform some skills that would be used in other jobs you have never held.
  • The terms or conditions of the policy do not cover your claim.
  • You did not meet all requirements or did not complete all steps required to receive LTD benefits.

The insurance company wants to intimidate you. It hopes that if it drags the process out long enough and throws enough roadblocks up in your way, you will give up. If you do not give up, it hopes that you file an appeal without an attorney. 

Aetna has experienced ERISA long-term disability lawyers to defend appeals. Aetna's attorneys have extensive knowledge of complex ERISA laws and how to use those laws to avoid paying valid long-term disability claims. Even the playing field by hiring our Aetna disability denial lawyers instead of fighting your LTD denial on your own.

If you have been denied long-term disability benefits, we can help you. Call us at 816-203-0143.

Do I Need an Aetna Disability Denial Lawyer?

ERISA laws and the terms of a long-term disability policy will generally favor the insurance company. Aetna also has teams of professionals that have experience and training to protect the company’s best interest. Aetna's team hopes that you will not prepare for battle and will simply walk away.

Preparing to fight back against a wrongful denial by Aetna requires that you understand ERISA laws, insurance contract laws, all requirements for appealing a long-term disability denial. It also requires having the resources, tools, and skills necessary to take on a large insurance provider like Aetna.

Most individuals do not have the resources, experience, or legal knowledge to fight an ERISA-based LTD denial. A simple, honest mistake could result in a denial of your LTD appeal. Therefore, we recommend that you consult with a Kansas City long-term disability lawyer who is trained in Aetna long term disability appeals.

Appealing Aetna Long-Term Disability Denials

At the Law Office of Kevin J. McManus, we have the training, resources, experience, and knowledge you want and need when appealing a long-term disability denial by Aetna. 

Time is not on your side. LTD denials have short and strict deadlines. If you do not act now, you could lose your right to file an Aetna long-term disability appeal. You must file an administrative appeal with Aetna before you can seek relief from the courts. 

However, your administrative appeal is significant to a future long-term disability lawsuit. You cannot add additional evidence or support for your claim in the lawsuit. Therefore, if you do not include all information in the appeal, you could lose the lawsuit. 

Make sure that you give yourself the best chance of winning your Aetna long-term disability appeal. Contact our Kansas City long-term disability lawyers now to discuss appealing the denial of your LTD claim.

What Do You Need To Appeal Your Aetna Claim?

As stated above, you must include all legal and medical information in your administrative claim that supports your disability claim. You cannot add information, evidence, or call witnesses if you file an LTD lawsuit. In an LTD lawsuit, the judge gives the benefit of the doubt to Aetna, so you must make your administrative appeal as strong as possible.

Things that you should gather for your administrative appeal include:

  • All medical records
  • Statements from your physicians regarding restrictions and impairments related to your ability to work
  • Recent objective data and results from medical tests and evaluations
  • Letters from witnesses, family, and friends

After you file an administrative appeal, Aetna has 45 days to deny or approve your appeal. If Aetna denies your appeal, ERISA then permits you to file a lawsuit to have a judge review your claim. Because the administrative appeal is crucial to the outcome of your case, it can be beneficial to talk to an Aetna disability denial lawyer before you file the administrative appeal. Don’t Wait Too Long! You need to talk to an ERISA disability lawyer now!

Contact Our Aetna Disability Denial Lawyer

The Law Office of Kevin J. McManus fights for disabled employees who are wrongfully denied benefits by insurers like Aetna. We handle cases throughout Kansas and Missouri, and since ERISA is a federal law, we can provide assistance throughout the United States with associated local counsel at no additional cost. Call our law firm today at 816-203-0143 to discuss your Aetna long-term disability claim or denial.

 

Kevin J. McManus
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Kevin McManus is an accident injury and disability lawyer in Kansas City, MO, and Overland Park, KS