If you are on Short Term or Long Term Disability, you may have questions about travel. One common question we receive is “can you go on vacation while on Short Term Disability in Florida?”
The question “can I go on vacation while on Short Term Disability in Florida?” is an area that has been particularly troublesome with the recent pandemic. We have received numerous inquiries. The fact is the “troublesome” nature of the problem is only coming to the fore at the present time- it has always been there. While there is practically a dearth of case law on this specific subject, we know what clients can expect from reading the cases available and from our extensive experience in the Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability areas of legal practice. Because it is all we do, we routinely face all of the issues which any claimant might encounter.
Traveling While on Short Term Disability or Long Term Disability
The insurance companies routinely try to use the travel issue as a double-edged against the claimant. First, the insurance company will ignore all of the travel requirements of a job in assessing whether a claimant can perform it. This is an indication that travel is not really a work-related activity. Those of us in the real world know otherwise but it is those same insurance companies who will suggest that a short bereavement trip is an evidence that someone can travel.
Past Cases
Cases that have addressed the issue include McMillan v. AT&T Umbrella Benefit Plan No. 1, 161 F. Supp. 3d 1069 (S. D. Okla. 2016). This case was one in which the insurance company refused to consider the extensive travel requirements presented by the claimant’s job. The Court sided with the claimant in disallowing such an approach saying the adverse determination “…failed to adequately consider McMillan’s ability to perform all of his essential job functions before denying his claim for STD benefits.” Id. at 1081.
The other concern is the claimant who is on benefits and wants to take a vacation with his or her family or, perhaps, visit a dying relative. We have had occasions in our office in which the client signed an affidavit explaining how what was normally a one (1) day trip took three (3) because of the need for incessant stops. We have successfully prevailed in these circumstances, ones which we think evidences some of the most egregious conduct by the insurance companies.
If you have any questions about your Short Term Disability or Long Term Disability claim, please give Herbert M. Hill, P.A. a call. 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.
