Trying to claim long-term disability benefits subject to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) oversight isn’t always easy. Your employer or their insurance company may try to push back against your benefit claim despite your legal rights. The more significant the benefits are that you require due to a long-term disability, the more scrutiny your claim will likely endure.
You probably already know that if you were injured in an incident at work, your employer might review security camera footage to determine what happened. What you may not realize is that security camera footage from outside of work might also affect your disability benefits claim.
Doctors treating a disabling condition have to watch for potential falsehoods
While most people who claim disability benefits have a real need and qualifying medical condition, there are some people who exaggerate their medical condition or outright fabricate medical issues for benefits. Physicians qualifying a disabling medical condition often go to great lengths to ensure that their evaluation of the situation is accurate.
For example, realizing that a patient might misrepresent their mobility or pain levels during the appointment could lead to a physician monitoring security camera footage of the parking lot or entranceway of the building to compare your mobility and behavior there with your actions during the appointment.
Footage that shows a patient moving with greater ease before the doctor was present could potentially undermine their claim. The physician will likely then know to look more closely at other claims and symptoms as well. Learning about the various factors that can influence your long-term disability benefits can help you with a complex benefits application.