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Some of the medical problems suffered by an accident victim heal within a matter of weeks. Others seem to resist any attempt at treatment. A few of such long-term problems deserve special attention. Those are cases in which the injured victim must deal with the symptoms of fibromyalgia, depression or chronic pain.
How the three conditions are similar, in terms of their medical implications
Each of those three conditions can make it impossible for an individual to perform as expected at work. At the same time, each of those long-term problems can lower the accident victim’s ability to engage in normal daily activities. Finally, not one of those three conditions can be noticed by the average citizen, the type of person that might sit in the jury box during a trial.
How the insurer can make use of the characteristics that are associated with each of those three conditions.
As suggested above, a member of the jury may find it hard to feel convinced that the victim of fibromyalgia, depression or chronic pain actually has a problem. None of those accident victims has a visible injury. Hence, the insurer can predict the likely behavior of a majority of the jurors.
Each juror could well have the same level of doubt as most people that do not understand that fibromyalgia is a condition with no visible symptoms. The insurer’s experience gives that same provider of insurance the ability to work on strengthening each juror’s doubt, thus making the denial of an appeal all the more likely.
At the same time, the lawyer for the defense must introduce a long line of experts. Each such expert must know how to acquaint the jury with the nature of the plaintiff’s condition (fibromyalgia, depression or chronic pain). Sometimes such an expert gets paid by the insurance company and focuses on those facts that would support the insurer’s claims.
Tactic used by insurers that did go to court and did get ordered by the judge to provide a policy holder with long term disability coverage
Seldom will an insurance company go bankrupt, if it must pay long term disability benefits for a single year. Thus, it can follow the judge’s order to pay the injured victim, and make those payments for a full year. Still, at the end of that first year, it can follow-through with its known strategy, the one spelled out in a given policy.
Typically, that strategy calls for sending the covered policy-holder to an IME (insurance medical examination). The medical professional that examines the policy holder gets to say whether or not the examined individual meets the company’s definition of disability. Failure to meet that definition means the removal of what had been granted previously, namely the long-term disability benefits. That is why you might need to consult with a personal injury lawyer in North Bay and let them represent your rights.