Long-haul COVIDs struggle to get disability insurance

Much research is still being done on the long-term side effects of COVID-19, but survivors are now seeking answers as some struggle to obtain long-term disability insurance.

“No one has answers, and it’s terrifying because no one understands it,” said Connie Hallet, a COVID-19 survivor who still shows symptoms of brain fog and fatigue more than four months after clearing his body from the virus. “I have to close my eyes just to think about what I’m trying to say and it’s frustrating.”

Hallet works as a receptionist in a primary school. She contracted the new coronavirus around Halloween and was rushed to intensive care, where she remained for eight days.

She says the symptoms that followed the recovery were the hardest part of her battle.

“I mean, I come home and go to bed at 7 at night because my body is in so much pain,” she said.

Because COVID-19 is so new, disability lawyers say diagnosing long-term symptoms can be difficult because they can be associated with a myriad of other conditions.

“The tools at our disposal are not entirely adequate to prove the disability of these people,” said Scott Riemer, managing partner at Riemer-Hess law firm in New York. “To get disability benefits, you have to prove continuous disability. So yes, maybe we can be disabled today, but we will still have to prove the disability next month and the month after.

He says insurance companies are wary of fraud and, therefore, might be reluctant to pay a claim, adding that symptoms like fatigue and brain fog can be difficult to prove, so many claims could be. refused.

“We see that insurance companies are very skeptical of them. They see that they can have millions of possible claims and they don’t want to pay them, ”said Riemer.

This might not be a comfort to some, but Riemer suggests going to a doctor, several if necessary, and getting written documents proving your condition so you can present the best possible case.