Hartford’s Disability Denial Upheld Despite Work Shift Mismatch

Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co. defeated a Seventh Circuit appeal by a power distribution engineer who said he was wrongly denied disability benefits for his multiple sclerosis and fatigue.

The insurer reasonably concluded the engineer wasn’t disabled because he could work 8-hour days, even though his employer required him to work 12-hour shifts, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said Monday. The engineer failed to show that 12-hour shifts were an “essential duty” that’s inherent to his occupation, the court said.

• Hartford’s letter denying Donald Artz’s benefits “could have been more plain and precise,” but the ...