Our client was in a serious auto accident at the age of 22, which confined him to a wheelchair due to serious back injuries. Despite his serious disability, he returned to school to learn computer programming. He returned to the workforce and eventually became a program manager for Oracle Corp. Due to a combination of his serious back injuries and the wear and tear after 17 years of working as a computer programmer and manager, his back finally gave out, precluding him from working full time. He applied for and received long term disability benefits.
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The client had been employed for 8 years as a registered nurse at a San Diego hospital. In July 1999, she was diagnosed with Stage IV metastasized breast cancer, and underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant. All of her doctors considered her to be disabled from work. She received disability benefits until 2002, when the insurance carrier abruptly denied her disability.
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The client was a supervisor in the aerospace industry for 26 years. In May 2002, he became aware of increased fatigue, coughing, shortness of breath and irritation in his eyes and throat that interfered with his work. According to the doctor who treated him, the client’s disability was due to a condition called RADS (reactive airways dysfunction syndrome) caused by his longtime exposure to toxic chemicals at his job. Evidence that he had RADS included his symptoms of achy joints and muscles, chronic fatigue, headaches, difficulty concentrating, irritation of the eyes, nose, ears, throat and skin, and hypersensitivity to odors, lights, sounds and temperature extremes.
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The Client was a pharmacist for 32 years. His back began to bother him the last 6-7 years before he was unable to continue work. Pharmacists must be on their feet almost all day and his back condition precluded him from standing more than 20 minutes at a time. The disability insurer denied benefits after doing a job survey to determine that other employers (though not our client’s) would allow him to use a stool to accommodate his back problem.
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The client was a director of underwriting for an insurance company. He had been in the business for 17 years. He sustained a knee injury in the mid 1990s that developed into reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), a pain syndrome that is very difficult to treat. His condition worsened and his pain distracted him while working. His pain medications made him drowsy and made it difficult to concentrate. However, he was a hard working, dedicated employee who wanted to stay on the job as long as possible.
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