Long-COVID and the Fight for Long-Term Disability Benefits (second blog in our series on Long-COVID)

In its March 8, 2022 article, The Washington Post reported on COVID long-haulers and their battle to access long-term disability benefits, both by private insurers, and/or by the Social Security Administration.

As we discussed in our February 22, 2022 blog, “Long-haulers” is the term used to describe those who suffer Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome, or “Long-COVID.” Long-COVID has impacted upwards of 30% of COVID-19 patients and has left them suffering with significant and oftentimes disabling symptoms.

The Washington Post’s March 8, 2022 article reported, “Patients cite a litany of symptoms that defy verification through basic medical tests. They become exhausted at the merest exertion. They can’t remember simple words. Their hearts feel like they are fluttering. Yet neurological exams, EKGs, and chest X-rays come back clean. Mysterious conditions are afflicting Americans after covid. It could signal a looming cardiac crisis…Long covid is destroying careers, leaving economic distress in its wake.”

What we currently know is that, in the United States alone, nearly 80 million people have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, and sadly, nearly one million have died as a result.

What we also currently know, and The Washington Post’s article confirmed, is that doctors in the United States believe there are “750,000 to 1.3 million or more Americans too sick with COVID long-haulers to return to their jobs. The Washington Post article continued, “A recent analysis published by the Brookings Institution, based on data from various studies, suggested that long covid disabilities and workplace absences could account for 15 percent of America’s 10.6 million unfilled jobs.”

Are you suffering and disabled from working because of symptoms of long-haulers?

As mentioned in our February 22, 2022 blog, long-haulers may experience all, some/a combination of, or more than, the following:

• Difficulty breathing, cough, or shortness of breath
• Tiredness or fatigue
• Mental health sequalae
• Symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activities (also known as post-exertional malaise)
• Difficulty concentrating/ “brain fog”
• Chest or stomach pain
• Headache
• Fast-beating/pounding heart
• Joint or muscle pain
• Pins-and-needles feeling
• Diarrhea
• Sleep problems/insomnia
• Fever
• Dizziness on standing (lightheadedness)

Beyond those symptoms, some COVID-19 sufferers will experience multiorgan effects or autoimmune conditions over a longer time with symptoms lasting weeks or months after COVID-19 illness. Further, some people also suffer Post-Intensive Care Syndrome and PTSD, especially if they required a lengthy treatment in the Intensive Care Unit for COVID-19.

When someone with Long-COVID is unable to work as a result of their disabling symptoms, they may qualify for Long-Term Disability Benefits. Unfortunately, as The Washington Post’s article confirms, insurers often deny a long-haulers’ claim for benefits. Then, the person suffering must endure the complicated and lengthy appeals process, which must be exhausted before one can file a lawsuit.

We want you to know that if you are, or if someone you love is, suffering with and disabled by long-haulers symptoms, you should not have to fight for your disability benefits on your own. That is where Roberts Disability Law, P.C. may be able to help.

At Roberts Disability Law, P.C., our team specializes in ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974) appeals and litigation. If you or someone you know has made a claim for Long-Term Disability benefits based on long-COVID and it was denied, let us evaluate your case.