Reviewing An Employer’s Work Description

The typical Long Term Disability (“LTD”) application has three forms; one for the claimant, one for the treating doctor, and one is for the employer. While the doctor’s form provides the medical information, the employer’s form provides the vocational information. The importance of the Employer’s form should not be overlooked because the vocational evidence is just as important as the medical evidence. It is especially easy to disregard the importance of the Employer’s form if the insurance company processing the LTD application sends it directly to the employer for completion. 

I filed an LTD application with Guardian Life Insurance Company of America for a 55 year old floor trader who sustained left leg, right hand and arm injuries. The claimant stood virtually the entire day at work. However, when I asked for a copy of the Employer’s form from Guardian, the Human Resources manager indicated the job was sedentary. After notifying the discrepancy with the claimant, he obtained a letter from his direct supervisor attesting to the fact that the occupation required being on his feet most of the day, as well as a letter from the Human Resources manager that her error happened because she used the incorrect job description to complete the Employer’s form. 

I received a letter today from Guardian approving the LTD application. There is a very good chance that the application may have been denied absent the correction to the vocational information provided by the Employer’s form.