By Melissa A. Davidson
Every year for the last three years, I have attended the annual seminar on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims held in Boston, MA. The conference held in June this year included presentations from a Psychiatrist and a Neurologist. These doctors are well educated in the difficulties of proving disability in cases involving Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Mental Illness, and other neurological disorders that can be disabling, yet do not show up on traditional testing. It is incredibly helpful to know which tests to use for clients suffering from mental illness, and how these tests are scored. When I meet a client whose credibility has been challenged by their insurance company, we are armed to combat those denials.
The conference also included a question and answer session with a panel of judges brought together from several different states. This gave the attorneys the opportunity to hear first hand what a judge is thinking when he reviews a long-term disability case. This rare opportunity helped me understand how to best prepare and present my client’s case when a lawsuit is necessary.
This disability conference is special because it is attended by Plaintiff’s lawyers, lawyers who represent the insurance companies, and even insurance claims representatives. Understanding how the other side thinks is a valuable tool that no litigator should be without.