Long COVID
Helping clients prove how Long COVID impacts daily life and work
Understanding Long COVID
Long COVID is a chronic condition that can cause ongoing symptoms after a COVID infection. These symptoms can last for months or even years and often vary from day to day.
Many people with Long COVID experience fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, headaches, joint pain, chest pain, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms make it hard to work on a consistent basis.
At Eric Buchanan and Associates, we know Long COVID is not minor or temporary. It is a disabling condition that must be taken seriously in the claims process.
Common Symptoms of Long COVID
- Severe fatigue or exhaustion
- Headaches or dizziness
- Shortness of breath or chest tightness
- Sleep problems and memory issues
These symptoms are unpredictable and can vary from day to day, which makes proving disability due to Long COVID especially difficult.
Representing Long COVID Disability Claims
Kaci Garrabrant and Ren Orlic secured long term disability benefits from Standard Life Insurance Company for our client after long COVID, POTS, and reactive gastropathy prevented her from working. Although Standard paid short term disability benefits, it denied her long term disability claim. On appeal, they submitted objective testing showing that her dysautonomia, fatigue, weakness, and gastrointestinal issues kept her from performing her occupation, which led Standard to overturn its denial and approve the claim.
How Insurance Companies Deny Long COVID Disability Claims
- Medical Records: Insurers say symptoms aren’t proven by lab tests
- Symptom & Daily Logs: Dismissed as “subjective”
- Doctor’s Opinions: Downplayed or ignored
- Vocational Analysis: Claims you can still do “other jobs”
Insurance companies often overlook fatigue, cognitive problems, and ongoing respiratory limitations. They may admit Long COVID is real, but still deny benefits by downplaying its impact on work performance.