Court: United States District Court for the District of Maryland
Insurance Carrier: Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company
Claimant’s Employer: The MITRE Corporation
Claimant’s Occupation: Senior Principal Health Systems Engineer
Disclaimer: Please note that this claim was not handled by the Ortiz Law Firm. It is summarized here for educational purposes.
A Respected Engineer’s Health Crisis
Christine Ward, a senior principal health systems engineer at The MITRE Corporation in Maryland, was thriving in her role providing strategic IT guidance to major federal health and defense programs. That changed in January 2021, when she stopped working due to debilitating symptoms associated with post-acute COVID syndrome. Ward experienced chronic fatigue, persistent migraines, shortness of breath, and a debilitating cognitive fog that significantly impaired her ability to perform her high-level job duties.
After a brief period of short-term disability, Reliance Standard approved her for long-term disability (LTD) benefits beginning in July 2021. Medical reviews at the time acknowledged that Ward’s symptoms, including her cognitive impairments, rendered her unable to perform her job. A Reliance Standard medical director stated:
“Given job (Sr. Principal Health Systems Engineer) requires good attention, concentration and planning, findings would support deficits sufficient to preclude working.”
The Termination of Benefits
Despite the early acceptance of her claim and a concurrent Social Security disability award, Reliance Standard terminated Ward’s LTD benefits in November 2022 and upheld the decision on appeal in June 2023.
Reliance Standard claimed a lack of clinical evidence of ongoing cognitive impairment. Their reviews downplayed or ignored recent cognitive assessments, therapy notes, and statements from treating physicians documenting Ward’s ongoing struggles with memory, concentration, and processing. They further downplayed the prescription of medications to help manage her cognitive dysfunction.
Key to Reliance Standard’s decision was its reliance on two “independent” medical reviewers who lacked specific neuropsychological expertise. Although one of them acknowledged “mild neurocognitive impairment” and recommended a neuropsychological evaluation, no such evaluation was ever performed.
Ward Fights Back
Ward challenged the termination, submitting extensive medical documentation, including evaluations from a speech-language pathologist who diagnosed moderate cognitive impairment and supportive opinions from her treating psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and primary care physician. All agreed that she could not meet the complex cognitive demands of her former job. Nevertheless, Reliance upheld the denial, emphasizing her ability to travel to Singapore. Reliance did not provide any evidence of how that trip reflected her ability to perform cognitively demanding work.
The Court’s Reversal and Sharp Criticism
The court reviewed the case as a bench trial under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52 because of the factual disputes involved. It found that Reliance Standard had abused its discretion by failing to conduct a reasonable and evidence-based review.
Specifically, the court found that:
- Reliance misapplied the policy language by evaluating only the physical demands of a generic “sedentary” occupation, rather than the mental demands of Ward’s actual role.
- It failed to properly consider cognitive evidence and disregarded the recommendations of its own reviewers to obtain neuropsychological expertise.
- Its reliance on Ward’s overseas travel as evidence of functionality lacked factual support.
In light of these deficiencies, the court ruled in favor of Ward and remanded the case to Reliance Standard for further proceedings, retaining jurisdiction in case additional issues arise.
Support for Long-Term Disability Claims Involving Long COVID or Cognitive Impairments
If you or a loved one has been denied long-term disability benefits due to a chronic condition such as post-COVID syndrome or cognitive impairment, the Ortiz Law Firm can help. Contact us to ensure that your claim receives the thorough and fair evaluation it deserves.
Here is a PDF copy of the decision: Ward v. Reliance Standard
