We represent people throughout the United States in claims against disability insurers, particularly claims involving group plans through employers. There are several mistakes that insurers want you to make in relation to Parkinson’s disability claims, so you need to adjust your behavior now so you have a better chance of winning your Parkinson’s disability claim.
The first mistake you might make is hiding your Parkinson’s from your friends and family. It is important for the people you know to be able to tell insurance adjusters how your life has been affected by Parkinson’s symptoms and how Parkinson’s affects your ability to work. That means that despite any inclination you may have to minimize the perception that you have Parkinson’s you need to explain to the people in your life what symptoms you are experiencing and how they affect you.
A second mistake is not going to the doctor consistently, as these visits can result in detailed medical records that can prove your claim. You need to be very clear with your doctors in telling them what symptoms you are experiencing and how these symptoms limit your abilities or make your life difficult. Don’t assume they know your experience. Keep them updated so they can keep current and complete records. Insurance companies would prefer you have little or no information in your medical records because that makes it appear you have no proof of your disability.
The third mistake is not keeping a journal to document your symptoms. Keep a dated record, being extra sure to indicate how you feel and what you experience on your bad days. Document how your conditions worsen. You can do this in a spiral notebook, and do it regularly so when we look back or present evidence you will have your own records of how you were feeling at a given time.
Fourth, don’t post pictures of yourself having a good time on social media. Also lock down your privacy settings so you can’t be tagged and so insurance companies cannot see posts with your information. Insurance companies will use such pictures and information to argue that your condition is not as bad as you say it is. Social media can equate to free surveillance, so you need to avoid posting anything that can be taken out of context to sabotage your claim.
While you may wish to present yourself in a positive and healthy way, you need to adjust your behavior in relation to these common mistakes so you can win your claim. Watch the video to learn more.
At Tucker Disability Law we handle Parkinson’s disability cases every day. If your disability claim has been denied, or if you have any additional questions, call Tucker Disability Law at (866) 282-5260, or review our videos and media library for more information.
Video TranscriptWhat the disability insurance company doesn't want you to know about how to win your Parkinson's disability insurance claim. I'm John Tucker, and I'm a disability insurance attorney. And I represent people all over the United States in claims against disability insurers, particularly, ones who insure group disability plans through employers. I want to tell you a story about a client of mine named Michael. Michael was a high-level executive with a large publicly traded company. He had a fairly high profile job, and he developed Parkinson's disease. Now I'm sure you understand how he was feeling at that moment, devastation to start, not knowing what he was getting, but he also wanted to keep it very private. He didn't want everyone to know he had developed Parkinson's. He tried to hide it from everyone.
Well, I want you to understand that the insurance companies love that, because then nobody else knows what's going on with you. If you don't tell your friends and family what's happening, they'll never be able to tell an insurance adjuster what kind of symptoms you have or the way your life has been affected. It also limits your ability to explain. When you get comfortable talking about those symptoms, it will make it easier for you to get someone to understand what it's like to be inside your skin. Now, Michael came to me after his claim had been denied. We got his medical records, and what we realized was he was minimizing the amount of time he was seeing his neurologist, or even his primary care doctor. He didn't want to go to the doctor. And I understand going to a doctor isn't fun, but you have to do it. You've got to go to the doctor because the insurance company loves it when there's no medical records in your claim. To them, that's no proof. If you don't have medical records to show the symptoms, the severity of your problem, the functional problems you're having because of those symptoms, and have that documented in the medical records, you don't have any proof to give to the insurance company. Michael also didn't want to write down anything about his life. And we encouraged him to write a journal to document what was going on. So if you're developing Parkinson's now, you may not have many symptoms. You may have minor symptoms. You may have a minor tremor, but over time you may develop other problems with your speech, your vision, your tremor may get worse. You may get to the point where you can't even hold a pen or a pencil.
Write notes about things like that on a regular basis. Insurance companies don't want you to do that because they don't want you to have anything in writing describing how bad your situation is. And you're in a position with insurance where you have to prove your claim. It's not on them to prove you're not disabled. It's on you to prove that you are disabled. And to an insurance company, the less documentation you have, the better. Finally, I want you to understand, don't post every picture of you having a great time online on Facebook, or Instagram, or some other social media platform. Insurance companies love when they see pictures of the claimants having a wonderful time playing volleyball, or walking, or running, or doing whatever they're doing.
Your doctors have probably told you to stay active. You need to keep active. It's part of your treatment. You don't need to document it in a video blog. You're just giving the insurance company proof that you're able-bodied. It doesn't allow you to explain what's wrong. Now, if you're putting pictures of the problems you have online, that's a different story. That's okay, but most people don't want to do that. But the insurance company is not going to tell you to stop posting online, because most people hurt themselves when they do that. If your Parkinson's disability claim has been denied by an insurance company, call me at the number on your screen. I've represented many, many people all over the country just like you. And I would be happy to help. Thanks for watching.
