Advocating for a Senior Executive’s Disability Benefits in the Face of Cognitive Impairment

Our client was a highly accomplished Senior Vice President at a global commercial bank, with a long-standing career characterized by strategic leadership, financial acumen, and extensive regulatory expertise. For years, he quietly battled numerous health challenges, but his condition eventually worsened significantly leading to a rapid and noticeable cognitive decline that made it impossible for him to perform the high-level, cognitively demanding tasks required in his role.

Initially, our client’s long-term disability claim was approved by New York Life. However, shortly thereafter, the insurance company reversed its decision by relying on selective and biased paper reviews conducted by in-house medical staff and paid consultants. New York Life concluded—without justification—that our client no longer met the definition of disability. Alarmingly, New York Life failed to conduct a proper vocational analysis and instead relied on an inaccurate job title to assert that our client could return to work. This decision ignored the reality of his occupational duties and the extent of his cognitive impairments.

Overwhelmed by the volume of documentation and pressure from the insurance company, our client sought a firm that could shoulder the burden and fight back against what had become a deeply unjust process. That’s when he turned to the Law Office of Justin C. Frankel, P.C. Our firm immediately launched a rigorous and strategic appeal. We collaborated closely with our client’s treating physicians and leading experts in neuropsychology and vocational rehabilitation. Through this partnership, we compiled compelling and objective evidence, including comprehensive neuropsychological testing and a detailed vocational evaluation from a seasoned expert. Together, this evidence conclusively demonstrated that our client’s condition precluded him from engaging in not only his own occupation, but any gainful employment within the national economy.

Our appeal laid bare the procedural flaws in New York Life’s decision-making—chiefly their failure to perform a proper vocational analysis and their reliance on flawed, internal reviews rather than medical reality.

Faced with overwhelming evidence and expert testimony, New York Life reversed its termination and reinstated our clients claim. New York Life acknowledged that our client is, in fact, disabled and incapable of returning to his prior occupation or engaging in other work.

This case is a testament to the importance of skilled legal advocacy in the face of insurance companies’ denial tactics. We are honored to have helped our client reclaim the financial security he rightfully deserves, and to have stood by his side when he needed it most.