Fighting Denial: Securing Victory
When Marine William “Bill” Lins returned home from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, he felt ruined. He wasn’t the same man anymore and felt like he didn’t fit in anywhere. After sustaining multiple injuries and witnessing the horrors of battle, he never thought he would be able to go back to living a normal life. How a Rescue Dog Changed a Veteran’s Life A WARRIOR’S BEST FRIEND
Our client, who we will call Mary, a New York Google software engineer, suffered from severe narcolepsy, a common cause of long-term disability from work. Narcolepsy symptoms range from mild to severe, and it can be difficult to prove that a particular case is truly disabling. Disability insurance companies commonly deny these claims, but appealing can be successful if done carefully. Long-term disability claims for narcolepsy are hard to prove. Mary’s treating physicians told her that she was unable to work until she got better. The MetLife Insurance Company ignored their opinions, instead favoring the opinions of its own physicians who reviewed Mary’s medical records without ever meeting her. MetLife claimed that the evidence she presented was insufficient to prove her case, despite her treating physicians’ opinion. Mary was used to a steady wage of $160,000 per year and was scared she would lose everything. Learning Mary’s Story We worked closely with Mary to help her build her claim with new, undeniable evidence — far beyond what she had presented previously. In helping her gather evidence for her case, we needed to learn her entire story. We quickly realized that Mary simply needed to tell her story more vividly and effectively.
That is until the nonprofit K-9s For Warriors helped him find his missing link — a rescue dog appropriately named Link.
K-9 For Warriors has been pairing highly trained service dogs with military veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and military
sexual trauma since 2011. The free program strives to better the lives of veterans through special canine bonds and ultimately end veteran suicide, which claims the lives of roughly 20 veterans every day. When Bill returned from deployment, he had to recover from two surgeries and realized he had PTSD. He had developed severe alcoholism, drinking every day nonstop as his only coping mechanism. In a hopeless place, the Marine
For years, Mary was a dynamo for Google. Her position involved cognitively demanding roles, such as project management, design
Does your office turn away calls about “long-term disability insurance” claim denials because you don’t handle administrative appeals or “ERISA litigation” in federal court? We want to hear from you! We happily share fees on referred ERISA long-term disability, life insurance, and accidental death insurance denial cases. Send us an email at BriefRecess@jpricemcnamara.com or call (225) 201-8311 to start the referral process! WE VALUE YOUR REFERRALS!
felt like he was losing every piece of his identity and had nothing left. After seeing a friend at the VA bring in his service dog, he noticed a remarkable change in him and decided to apply for the program. Bill felt an instant connection to the goofy rescue dog Link, who was recovering from his own trauma after living a rough life in a kill shelter. Bill said his canine companion is his 24/7 therapist, providing him with support and safety at all hours. Link doesn’t just impact Bill’s life; he makes a difference with everyone he encounters, from Bill’s children to the youth athletes he coaches.
“Together, we kind of make each other whole,” Bill said. “He makes everyone’s world better, and he makes it seem effortless.”
Link has inspired Bill to help others and spread a message of awareness that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but a symbol of strength. Bill has since earned his master’s in social work and provides mental health services with his tail-wagging companion by his side for every session.
ERISA is all we do!
Together, the pair are showing veterans everywhere that there is hope and that life can get better with a little help from a four-legged friend.
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