Some of our earliest experiences in the practice of law stick with us. We remember clients and their cases. The attorney-client relationship is just that – a relationship. A relationship is a state of connection, and an attorney has the privilege to be in a state of connection with the client in their time of need.
It’s common for new lawyers to start in practice by researching and writing legal briefs to the court. My experience was no different, though I also enjoyed the baptism by fire of immediate appearances in jury trials, hearings, and depositions. We represented clients in Social Security disability and long-term disability insurance claims. I spent countless hours analyzing disability insurance company denial letters, policies, medical records, and court opinions. Patterns begin to emerge when you do this. A basis for an insurance company’s denial would be the same letter to letter, though the clients’ medical conditions and circumstances would be different. Did the insurance company really take the time to understand the claim? Did they have an agenda to deny certain disability claims? Was it a lack of time and resources?
One client stands out to illustrate the point. Her family was the point of contact for us as she had suffered a stroke and had problems speaking. She was a younger person and the long-term disability insurance company had denied her claim. Reading between the lines, it seemed that the insurer believed that she just couldn’t be disabled (as defined in the policy) because she was young.
We were engaged to appeal the insurance company’s denial. We started by gathering all of her medical records and vocational evidence. I then wrote a lengthy brief arguing why the insurance company was wrong in its decision. Insurance companies don’t always change their minds. However, in this case they agreed, changed their decision, and approved the client for long-term disability benefits going forward.
What the insurance company did not see firsthand was what I saw when meeting with the client. The insurance company had denied the disability claim of a woman who was in a simple wheelchair and who had to be secured in it with a seatbelt. If not, she would slide out and to the ground. She could not stand and walk, could not speak clearly, and had various other medical problems. It was apparent – once you got to know her – that she could not perform the material duties of her own occupation. And yet it took the hiring of a lawyer, gathering of evidence, and argument through a lengthy written legal brief, backed up with the obvious comment that filing a lawsuit was the next step, to get the insurance company to change its mind. When I am able to help a client with a disability claim, it is a privileged relationship where I often see what others have not.