In Sarah G. Gorena v. Aenta Life Insurance Company, Plaintiff was employed for 10 years as a staff analyst for Boeing when she sought disability benefits solely due to her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), although she had a number of other health issues. After being awarded several periods of…
In Mark v. Aetna Life Insurance Company and FedEx Office and Print Services, Inc., Plaintiff Julia Mark, an employee of FedEx Office, injured her neck, back, ankle, and left knee when she fell on a sidewalk. Her left knee continued to cause her pain. She filed a claim for short…
In this recent case out of California, the Plaintiff previously worked in IT for the Capital Group Companies. However, he was forced to stop working on February 2, 2011, due to chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Through his employer, the former IT employee had long term disability coverage under a Policy…
In Kristen Reetz v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, the Western District Court for Seattle, Washington, granted Reetz’s motion for judgment, reinstating her long-term disability benefits that had been terminated by Hartford. As the Court commented, “Ms. Reetz’s medical history, as well as the facts behind Hartford’s termination of…
In James Wilson v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, a Michigan District Court ruled in favor of Reliance and found its termination of long term disability benefits to plaintiff Wilson was not arbitrary and capricious. Plaintiff, an Air Force veteran, was employed by RCF Information System, a defense contractor, as…
In Marie West v. Aetna Life Insurance Company, Plaintiff West, a contract administrator at Ciber Inc., fell down some stairs on October 22, 2007. She fractured her spine and suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although she continued working for a time, by June 2008, she had to undergo a…
In this video, Disability Insurance Attorneys Alex Palamara and Gregory Dell discuss the issues with a recent case in which Dell & Schaefer Attorney Alex Palamara was successful in an ERISA appeal for his client against Lincoln Financial. Mr. Palamara was able to prove the negligence of Lincoln Financial for…
In this video, disability insurance attorneys Rachel Alters and Gregory Dell discuss a California Federal Court decision in which a SunLife disability insurance denial was reversed. The SunLife policy holder suffering from Fibromyalgia was on claim for 5 years when SunLife abruptly decided the claimant could return to work. The…
In Melissa Vacarro v. Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, Melissa Vacarro was employed by NetApp Inc., when she began suffering from fatigue, pain and deteriorating cognitive abilities, particularly in the areas of memory and comprehension. She applied for disability benefits with Liberty, the disability insurer for her employer. As…
Roy Neil Johnston, M.D. v. Aetna Life Insurance Company involves the scope of permissible discovery in an ERISA lawsuit brought when an insurer terminates a claimant’s short-term disability benefits and denies him long-term disability benefits. Aetna initially found Johnston disabled based on the opinion of its own independent neurologist. Apparently,…