The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision in June 2019 involving an Illinois woman who was denied long-term (LTD) and short-term disability (STD) benefits from her insurance carrier, United of Omaha Life Insurance Company. The appeal focused on deficiencies in the analysis of both the insurance company and the district court in…
After handling hundreds of long-term disability claims against Reliance Standard, attorneys Greg Dell and Alex Palamara share their expertise and explain the intricacies of filing an ERISA appeal. Dell notes that 99 percent of the denied Reliance Standard disability claims handled by their firm are ERISA appeals, primarily because Reliance…
The case of Smith v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (Reliance) demonstrates the length disability insurance companies will go to avoid paying benefits to claimants. It began in 2013 when Fredrick Smith, who had been plant manager at Charles Craft, Inc. since the 1970s, experienced a series of strokes and…
Gina Pike received long term disability (LTD) benefits for eight years from her disability insurer, Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company (Hartford) when the company suddenly terminated her benefits. She filed two administrative appeals, but Hartford still denied benefits, so Pike filed this ERISA lawsuit. In Gina Pike v. Hartford…
Disability Attorneys Dell & Schaefer provide legal services for disability claimants that have a short-term or long-term disability insurance policy purchased from Assurity Life. In this video disability insurance attorney Cesar Gavidia discusses the problems that can result when a disability insurance company, in written correspondence, mistakenly represents the amount…
Long term disability insurance attorneys Gregory Dell and Cesar Gavidia discuss things that a person should expect if they have been denied disability benefits by Aetna insurance company. We discuss the ERISA appeal process and how Aetna will review the disability appeal that must be filed following a claim denial.
In Jamie S. Flanagan v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Plaintiff was a nurse practitioner who was unable to work after a lumbar fusion failed and left her with nerve root scarring. She also had spondylolisthesis. Her employer had a welfare benefit plan which included long term disability (LTD)…
In Ralph Dewsnup v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, Central Division, held that Plaintiff clearly showed, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he was entitled to long-term disability (LTD) benefits that were incorrectly terminated by Unum. It all started…
In Kimberly J. Guest-Marcotte v. Life Insurance Company of North America, Plaintiff, an insurance risk manager, was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) Type III, a hereditary disease characterized by loose connective tissue which results in frequent joint dislocations and subluxations. In June 2013, due to chronic pain and fatigue, Plaintiff…
In Anne Wittmann v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America (Unum), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana did not make any ruling about whether or not Wittmann, an attorney suffering from fibromyalgia, was entitled to long term disability benefits. The only question presented was whether or…