Q: How do I find a pro bono or sliding scale attorney to deal with long term disability claim against lg insurance company?
I have had an illness for months but specialist is still seeking diagnosis. Short term disability has been exhausted. Long term disability company is asking me to sign medical release for entire medical record and waive HIPAA in addition to other seemingly inappropriate questions that have nothing to do with illness and seem like a trap, they want this to assess my claim. I think I need legal help and have 2 weeks to get everything to them. I am barely getting by off savings and some disability received. I live in Colorado. Any advice is welcome as I don’t know where to start. All of the legal aid pages seem to address civil rights but not my situation. I desperately need help fast. I’m looking to protect myself and my job while I get medical treatment.
A:
A Colorado attorney could advise best, but your post remains open for two weeks and you mention needing help quickly. One option is to start reaching out to attorneys who handle disability claims. Many attorneys in that area provide free initial consults - that's between you and the attorneys you contact. In terms of the HIPAA waivers you mention, that's something that an attorney would need more details to offer input on. You could conduct your own independent search for attorneys, or you could use the Find-a-Lawyer tab above to locate attorneys in your area. With COVID, many attorneys offer Zoom meetings or use other tools to avoid the need for a physical visit to the office. Good luck
Tim Akpinar
A:
Addendum - You could also search pro bono or legal aid-type resources, but another issue to explore is that with some types of disability claims, some attorneys do not charge legal fees up front, but rather, their fees are based on interest-related elements of recovery. Again, that would be something to confirm with individual attorneys. Good luck
Tim Akpinar
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