Court in ERISA appeal finds classic LTD disability insurer cherry-picking Disability insurers have an arsenal of tactics to deny or terminate disability benefit claims. One common tactic is “cherry-picking” in which the insurer or its claims administrator picks...
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Helping People Like You With Their Disability, Life And Long-Term Care Benefit Claims
lawsuit
LTD insurer may not arbitrarily discredit treating doctors’ opinions
On March 22, 2021, the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington ordered Prudential to pay long-term disability (LTD) benefits to the claimant, a software engineer who said he was unable to work based on mental impairments that developed after abusive...
Disability Insurance Law Group wins 11th Circuit Appeal against the NFL
On October 15th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled in favor of our client, Darren Mickell, in the case, Mickell v. Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Players Retirement Plan, holding that the NFL abused its discretion when it denied disability benefits to...
Long-term disability claimant’s debilitating pain had subjective and objective support
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently held in favor of a long-term disability (LTD) claimant whose insurance company denied his claim based largely on severe, chronic back pain. Disability insurance companies often improperly discount credible...
Long-term disability policy interpretation under ERISA
A federal court in Texas recently found in favor of a long-term disability (LTD) claimant whose insurer had terminated his benefits. The March 10 opinion illustrates federal rules for interpreting disability insurance policies. In Chavez v. Standard Insurance Co., the...
Disability Insurance Law Group wins lawsuit and secures disability benefits for claimant suffering from cervical and lumbar pain after MetLife terminated benefits
Our client, Mrs. Y was covered under her employer-provided Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance Policy, issued by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (“MetLife”). Ultimately, Ms. Y became disabled from her occupation and any occupations due to cervical and...
Legal remedies for private disability insurance claim denials
People acquire disability insurance as a safety net to provide financial support should they become disabled from working. Short- and long-term disability insurance policies fall into two buckets. On one hand, group policies such as those available through employers...
Nurse anesthetist taking Fentanyl at work cannot perform job
Kansas City Life Insurance Co. denied the short- and long-term disability applications of a nurse anesthetist who was allegedly taking Fentanyl on the job. The insurer said that the reason the claimant lost his job was a failed drug test after coworkers reported he...
Court uses de novo standard of review when insurer blew deadline
A federal appeals court decided that because a disability insurance plan administrator missed a strict ERISA deadline for issuing a benefits decision on review, the correct standard for the court reviewing the denial of benefits to use is "de novo" rather than...
Court holds LTD claimant did not have a pre-existing condition
On Sept. 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit held that Aetna had wrongly denied long-term disability insurance coverage to a claimant with malignant melanoma. The opinion turns on a legal issue that comes up often in LTD cases — whether the claimant...