Aug 17, 2023 - Short Term Disability Insurance by Seltzer & Associates
Anyone can get sick or injured at any time, including doctors. When illness or injury occurs, it is imperative to get the necessary medical treatment to aid in recovery, which sometimes includes surgery and ongoing care. As a doctor, you are well aware of frequent timeframes for the recovery of surgical patients. Recovery cannot be rushed, and the patient will return to daily activities and work activities when their health allows. Many doctors even prohibit their patients from returning to the workplace so that proper recovery can be well underway or complete by the time the patient does return to work. Doctors are not exempt from these limitations and can find themselves out of their medical practice while they recuperate from surgery.
Short-term disability insurance benefits can fill the income gap left when doctors are unable to continue working in the medical field due to disability. Including the period after surgery. Short-term disability benefits will begin weeks to months before insureds are eligible for long-term disability benefits. Do not let this valuable opportunity pass you by and leave you without disability insurance benefits while waiting for a longer elimination period for long-term disability. An experienced and knowledgeable short-term disability lawyer can help you claim your short-term disability benefits and ease the financial burden of being out of work after surgery.
Seltzer & Associates has decades of experience representing doctors, surgeons, and other medical professionals who need to fight their own insurance company to receive the disability insurance benefits to which they are entitled. Our dedicated and compassionate legal team knows the challenges you face in obtaining the disability insurance benefits you deserve. We will fight alongside you to secure your disability insurance benefits.
Contracting for Additional Individual Short-Term Disability Coverage
It is important to ensure you have short-term disability insurance in place before you become disabled and unable to work. You may have short-term disability insurance benefits offered by your employer, and these policies can have the premiums paid by the employer or employee, depending on the contract agreement with the insurance company. If your employer does not offer this benefit, you can seek individual disability insurance on your own.
Since short-term disability insurance coverage is a key financial tool in protecting your income when you become disabled and unable to work, it is important to understand what your short-term disability insurance policy will pay you in the event of your disability. This amount will be a percentage of your pay, but you can also explore purchasing additional coverage or an additional policy, which will increase your total replacement compensation due to your short-term disability insurance benefits.
Regardless of whether your disability insurance policy is provided by your employer or if you purchased the coverage on your own, understanding your short-term disability coverage is critical as part of your preparation for surgery, whether your surgical treatment is sudden or if you know in advance due to your treatment plan for your condition. When your health and work are uncertain, having the security of disability insurance benefits makes a difference in your peace of mind.
Advancements in Outpatient Surgery Do Not Eliminate the Need for Disability Insurance Benefits
Modern medicine has improved many medical outcomes for patients. Now, procedures that would require an extensive hospital stay can be conducted in an outpatient setting, such as many surgeries on joints or joint replacements such as a knee replacement. There are many benefits to outpatient surgery, such as early ambulation after surgery, allowing the patient to recover in the comfort of their own home from day one, and the patient being able to have loved ones visit without hospital restrictions. These factors contribute to successful recovery outcomes.
Despite these advancements in outpatient surgical procedures, the body has still been through surgery. Adequate recovery time, including medically necessary time away from work, is warranted. This often means taking a medical leave of absence from work to focus on recovery and well-being. While being out of work will result in income loss, your disability insurance benefits can replace this lost income and protect your financial well-being.
Just because your surgery did not require a hospital stay does not mean you should not receive disability insurance benefits. If your period of disability from work exceeds your elimination period for short-term disability benefits, you should absolutely claim these benefits for yourself. An experienced short-term disability insurance lawyer can help you understand how short-term disability benefits can provide financial support and confidence when you are out of work recovering from surgery.
Surgery Recovery Keeps Doctors From Returning to Work
If your surgery is part of a known medical treatment plan, you have some time to prepare yourself for the changes facing you. You should understand the coverage provisions of your short-term disability Insurance plan so that you know what to expect after surgery as well.
After surgery, even minimally invasive procedures are still painful. Pain medications prescribed to manage post-surgery pain can come with a host of side effects that make it impossible to promptly return to the practice of medicine. Returning to an acceptable range of physical and mental function to practice medicine after surgery can take time and require ongoing treatment and monitoring that would take you away from work. Being unable to concentrate or forgetting things easily are side effects of medication that impair a physician’s ability to treat their own patients. Mood and behavioral disorders, depression, and anxiety can occur after surgery and become debilitating as well. Additionally, certain pain medications can result in substance abuse or addiction, requiring additional medical treatment. If an addiction to medication occurs and prevents you from returning to work, Seltzer & Associates will continue to work with you on your disability insurance benefits claim. You do not have to suffer alone. Should the disabling condition that is preventing you from working continue past the coverage period of your short-term disability insurance policy, we can help you claim and maintain your long-term disability benefits as well.
Schedule Your Free Consultation with a Short-Term Disability Lawyer
If recovery from surgery keeps you out of your medical practice, you need to meet with an experienced short-term disability lawyer to discuss your claim for disability insurance benefits. Call us at 888-699-4222 or complete our online form to schedule your free consultation.