What You Need to Know

• Rebecca Santorelli sought judicial review of Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co.'s denial of long-term disability benefits.
• Hartford Life argued that Santorelli could work at an office job, but did not address her claim that her damaged immune system left her unable to work around other people in an office.
• The court ordered Hartford Life to consider if working from an office, rather than at home, was an essential part of Santorelli's job.

A U.S. District Court judge wasn’t convinced that a vascular disorder left a woman unable to work an office job at a desk, but he instructed Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co. to reconsider whether working from an office was “an essential duty” of her job in terms of qualifying for long-term disability benefits.

The plaintiff, Rebecca Santorelli, who was diagnosed with granulomatosis, a vascular disorder, sought judicial review under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut after Hartford Life denied her long-term disability claim, according to the opinion filed Sept. 1 by Judge Jeffrey Meyer.

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Read Full Story: https://www.law.com/ctlawtribune/2022/09/12/desk-work-essential-duty-judge-in...