If you are applying for Short Term Disability or Long Term Disability and you are worried about contracting COVID-19, keep reading to learn what to do in this unique scenario.
If you have a health condition that places you in the category of immuno-compromised, going into the work environment may place you at greater risk for both contracting COVID and for suffering from severe side effects of COVID and/or hospitalization. Although many businesses have shut down during this time or allowed for employees to work remotely, for some businesses this is not possible. If your job is requiring you to go to work each day, and your particular condition makes you more susceptible to contacting COVID, you may be eligible to make a successful claim for disability benefits.
Consult your disability policy to determine what coverage you have and how it may apply during this time. Your policy will lay out the definition of disability you will have to meet and whether there are any exclusions that apply. Whether you can receive disability benefits due to your high health risk depends on the terms of your policy. It is possible that your policy may exclude risk to health as a basis for applying for Short Term Disability, or provide that you are required to find alternative work for which you are qualified.
You will need your doctor to certify that your health condition places you at high risk for the contraction of COVID. Although there is no definitive level of risk that will be required by your policy, the risk will need to be sufficiently high for the risk taken together with your condition to be considered disabling. Regardless of potential pitfalls to your disability application, it is worth consulting with an attorney experienced in handling Short or Long Term Disability claims who can guide you through this process.
If you have any questions about applying for Short Term Disability or your Long Term Disability claim, please give Herbert M. Hill, P.A. a call and we would be glad to answer any questions you may have. If you would like, after discussing your case, we can set a conference. In most circumstances, that conference would be free of charge but in no circumstance would you be under any obligation to hire me nor would you feel any pressure from me to do so.
Herbert M. Hill, P.A. is a law firm located in Orlando, Florida with a practice extending throughout the state of Florida. While the vast majority of cases handled are for disability insurance benefits, areas of practice include employee benefit claims of all sorts. The firm handles any claims arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) for disability benefits, medical benefits, retirement benefits of any sort, including pension, 401k, termination agreements or the like as well as claims arising under private disability policies.
