Often our clients are denied disability benefits on the basis of the insurers’ conclusion that they can work in a “sedentary occupation.” Insurers also base their analysis often on something known as the “national economy.” By ignoring the demands of our client’s individual job workplace and environment, the insurers misclassify a job and the duties required to perform it. This unfairness permeates many vocational reviews. Fortunately, the courts have addressed this situation in several cases.
Courts have consistently rejected the argument that the specific tasks listed by a claimant’s own employer are irrelevant to an occupational analysis, noting that “while the correct standard is the occupation in the general economy and not the specific job for a specific employer, the specific duties of the employee’s job, as described by the employer, are relevant.” See Burtch v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co., 314 Fed. Appx. 750, at 4 (5th Cir. 2009). The law is clear, that the disability assessment must be based on the occupation that the insured was actually performing: the actual job duties and not a reference to how the position might be performed in the local economy. Polnicky v. Liberty Life Assur. Co. of Boston, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164890 (N.D. CA Nov. 25, 2014).In the ERISA context, an administrator must consider a claimant’s inability to perform his specific job requirements of a position in light of the relevant symptoms and medical conditions. Miller v. Am. Airlines, Inc., 632 F.3d at 854-55 (3d Cir. 2011).
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed this situation in McDonough v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 6153 (1st Cir. Mass. Apr. 15, 2015). In deciding that McDonough was no longer disabled, none of Aetna’s medical consultants or vocational reviewers considered the demands of his high-pressured position in the national economy or how “his symptoms would affect his ability to meet those demands.”
The court held that Aetna failed to consider whether McDonough, who had suffered a stroke and sustained chronic cognitive deficits could perform the high-pressured demands of his occupation and was grounds for reversal of the denial. Aetna’s decision was unreasonable, and the court remanded the claim.
As disability attorneys, we understand how to analyze and interpret these complex disability plans. Contact us at Bonny G. Rafel, LLC for more information and to see how we can help you with your claim.