Frequently Asked Questions

What Do Mental Nervous and Substance Abuse Limitations Mean?

Frank Darras:

“The mental nervous or substance abuse limitation can be as short as 12 months, and you need to be very careful. If you’re taking medication for back pain or neck pain; if you’re taking OxyContin, Opana, those kinds of medications easily can be abused. Or the carrier can argue you’re taking too much medication. The substance abuse limitation kicks in, and your legitimate back or neck pain and problem can be as short as 12 months.”

“Mental nervous as well– I often have people come to me with back pain. They’ve got secondary depression because they can’t do the activities that they used to do when they weren’t limited. So now, I’ve got some sadness and some depression. The carrier takes that back claim or the neck claim and turns it into a 12-month mental nervous claim. Be very careful.”