Please appeal ASAP and get copies of ALL your medical records. Unfortunately, you cannot necessarily take the LTD company at its word. They could be picking and choosing what they sent your lawyer, or your docs may have told you one thing and put another in your records; the only way to know is to look at them yourself.

Also, does your contract have an exclusion or limitation for mental illness? Some LTD companies deliberately "misinterpret" neuropsyche test results if anything in there points to depression or you seem "preoccupied" with your physical health. My LTD company has cut off my benefits, claiming I have somatoform disorder (which is absolutely untrue) so they can enforce their 24 month limitation for mental illness.

Does that lawyer specialize in ERISA cases? Very few do. I don't know for sure if that would make a difference, but it could.

And you are absolutely right about needing to find a neurologist who will take you seriously and who will properly document your ailments. Without the support of appropriate treating specialists, the LTD company can basically call you a liar and claim you can work. Do you have a reliable primary care doc who can refer you to a specialist in your area?

I am fighting a similar battle to yours. I had excellent doctors where I used to live, but due to the massive financial loss that accompanies disability, I had to move to another state, and none of the specialists in my new location are at all knowledgeable about what ails me. So I am basically having to start over and will be going to the Mayo Clinic to be re-tested because I know my LTD company won't have a valid argument against them.

It is inexcusable that insurance companies and doctors have such power over us. All it takes is one boo boo or disagreement over a diagnosis and our financial stability goes right out the window. I know it is aggravating and exhausting, but don't let this go without a fight.

fanfaire