The pandemic has taught us that the world has changed with COVID. Those trying to recover from this deadly disease are navigating a new world with medical practitioners who are unfamiliar with the long-lasting side effects and insurers who have never been receptive to conditions which cannot be measured by an x-ray or “dipstick.”
“Long COVID” is now one of the chronic “invisible diseases” that are so difficult to prove with objective standards. Unfortunately, it is so new that the medical community is also learning as the disease progresses.
“Long COVID” generally refers to patients who have experienced symptoms for 90 days or more. The CDC reports that those who experience “Long COVID” customarily experience fatigue that interferes with daily life, fever and difficulty with concentration (“brain fog”).
Others may experience muscle pain, digestive symptoms, headache and persistent loss of smell or taste. The symptoms are similar to other invisible diseases such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Mast Cell Activation Syndrome which are often poorly understood or misunderstood by healthcare providers.
Long-COVID may last months and potentially years after a COVID-19 illness and it has been recognized that it may result in disability. It has been reported that Long-COVID may affect up to 10 to 20% of COVID 19 patients.[1]
The CDC also reports that people with certain health histories, previously under control, may be more at risk for developing Long-COVID. For example, those who experienced a more severe case of COVID, or those who had an underlying health condition, such as diabetes may be more at risk for Long-COVID.
The anticipated length of disability due to Long-COVID does not yet have a “usual course.” The disease is too new for physicians to provide predictions based on prior cases.
At Kantor & Kantor, we have assisted our Chronic Fatigue Syndrome clients for years and have obtained successful results; including cases which have been tried and won against insurers who have denied meritorious claims. We are well equipped to assist our clients to obtain necessary testing to get a disability denial overturned. We have turned our expertise in assisting clients with invisible diseases to our Long Covid clients and have been successful in obtaining a reversal of erroneous claim denials.
If you have a Long-COVID claim that has been denied:
- We can help you by appealing the wrongful decision.
- We can work with your physicians to include important evidence about the disease, your symptoms and your disability in an appeal to the insurance company.
- We are also working with experts in the medical community, testing facilities and vocational experts to develop persuasive evidence which should be accepted by insurers as adequate proof of a client’s disability.
If you know of someone with a Long-COVID claim, please know that we encourage insureds to retain knowledgeable ERISA or insurance attorneys to pursue a claim. In many cases, if this evidence is not submitted in the appeal of the denial, it may not be considered by a judge if you have to take your case to court. We are experienced in working with practitioners to address the disability issues faced by our clients with “invisible diseases.” We have been successful in countless appeals and numerous court cases in proving disability with these difficult diseases.
We are here to help and our consultations are free. Call us today or fill out our contact form and one of our staff will reach out to learn more.
[1] https://longcovidalliance.org/about/
