GMA Exposes CIGNA

CIGNA routinely denies or terminates long term disability ("LTD") claims without any legitimate basis for doing so. The situation has become so epidemic that ABC News' "Good Morning America" just did an expose on CIGNA's unethical tactics. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5257491&page=1. I am currently litigating an LTD case with CIGNA in federal court that is a perfect example of CIGNA's bad faith tactics.

I deposed the CIGNA claims manager who terminated my client's LTD claim. She testified that her role as claims manager was to compare a claimant's functional limitations with the physical demands of the U.S. Department of Labor's Dictionary of Occupational Titles (the "DOT"). She then testified that she had been doing so for over a decade and has reviewed thousands of claims for CIGNA. However, she then admitted that she did not know what the physical demands are for sedentary work.

My client's doctors completed CIGNA's forms for assessing a claimant's functionality. The doctors stated that my client could not do the DOT's physical demands of sedentary work. CIGNA then decided to disregard the doctors' reports, and insisted that my client attend a Functional Capacity Evaluation ("FCE"). The FCE test data showed my client could not do the physical demands of sedentary work. I n fact, I got CIGNA's claims manager to admit under oath that she was unable to identify a single test finding from the 23 pages of FCE test data that supposedly showed my client could do sedentary work.

The case is currently being briefed on summary judgment. Not surprisingly, CIGNA is arguing that the court should not be allowed to consider the deposition testimony of its claims manager because it is not part of the administrative record. If CIGNA has denied your LTD claim be sure to retain an attorney promptly with experience in the area, who can ensure that the administrative record contains all the necessary evidence when your case proceeds to litigation.