Disability Insurance Benefit Tips

The answer to this question applies to the vast majority of long term disability insurance claims that we handle on a daily basis. Pain is subjective. This means that there is no medical device or verifiable method for confirming pain. A claimant's ability to collect disability benefits based upon pain will depend upon the level of documentation and treatment received from treating physicians. In a recent case...

In this video, disability insurance attorneys Rachel Alters and Cesar Gavidia discuss what you can expect at an IME exam requested by The Hartford disability insurance company. The information they discuss is applicable to an IME exam requested by most disability insurance companies.You need to take extreme precautions if your have been requested to attend o...

Disability insurance attorneys Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup discuss a Northern Illinois federal court case in which Hartford attempted to deny benefits to a nurse after 24 month. Hartford claimed that the Nurse's cognitive impairment was a mental condition subject to the disability policy's 24 month mental health limitation. The court disagreed and reinstated...

Lincoln Financial group is one of the larger disability insurance companies. In this video disability insurance attorneys Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup provide a lawyer's perspective on handling a Lincoln Financial disability insurance claim.We discuss common trends that we see when helping claimants to recover disability benefits from Lincoln Financial. W...

The manner in which an insured chooses to pay their disability insurance premiums could have a major impact on their disability claim. The way an insured chooses to pay their premiums -- either personally, through employer contributions or a salary allotment plan -- not only impacts the taxability of those benefits when they file their claim, but also the law which governs their claim should they one day find ...

Calculating the time limits when an ERISA disability lawsuit has to be filed is tricky. In a recent decision out of a North Carolina Federal Appeals Court, the Court ruled that the time limit to file a disability insurance lawsuit is already running even when the claimant is filing the required administrative ERISA appeal. While it seems unfair that the clock is...

It is challenging for a disabled claimant to obtain either short or long term disability benefits when they are receiving or have received unemployment benefits. It is not impossible to get STD or LTD benefits, but a claimant would be much better off not seeking unemployment. One of the criteria to be eligible for unemployment benefits is that the employee must be able to work, available to work and actively s...

Watch our latest video discussing the recent increase in disability IME exams which we have noticed. In this video disability insurance lawyers Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup discuss multiple ways that you can be prepared for a disability IME Exam....

Disability insurance claim denials which are not governed by ERISA give claimants and lot more options. In this video, disability insurance lawyers Gregory Dell and Cesar Gavidia answer the most frequently asked questions following the denial of a private disability insurance claim. There are numerous remedies available to claimants that have been denied. After ...

Most people have never heard of the word ERISA until it came time to deal with their short or long term disability claim. ERISA is a confusing law and unfortunately a law that favors insurance companies. Thousands of claimants contact us every year wanting to know what their options are following a denial of disability benefits. This video with disability benefi...

Gregory Dell and Cesar Gavidia just released this video discussing the recent claim handling activities of Unum insurance company. This video is not only helpful to learn about Unum insurance claims, but it is also helpful for claimants that have a disability benefit claim with any other disability insurance company. Let us know your thoughts about the video and...

The answer unfortunately is: depending on the language of the insurance policy, mostly likely yes, each disability insurance company can deduct the full amount of the SSDI payment from each of the disability benefit payments.Unless there is substantial ambiguity in the language of the policy provision that permits the SSDI offset, the courts will more often rule in favor of enforcing the provisions of the ...

Between 836,000 and 2.5 million people suffer from what is now known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). The actual number is likely higher since many physicians misunderstand the disease and, as a result, some people suffer from the syndrome for years without being properly diagnosed.Since only about half of medical school textbooks include information about ME/CFS, and only ab...

The "But For Test"In the case of George v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, The district court held that RSL did not abuse its discretion when it determined that a mental disorder contributed to George's Total Disability. On appeal, George argued that there was no evidence in the record to show that, absent his mental nervous conditions, he was able to earn close to the same amount in another occu...

The answer is that it depends on the type of Plan; who funds the benefits and who is responsible for making the claim determination. In most cases, the entity sued is the disability insurance company, since it is the party responsible for both making the claim determination and paying benefits. Although it may be designating as the Plan Administrator, suing the employer that sponsors the Plan but otherwise doe...

Unum regularly request examinations of their customers and these exams are mandatory. Unum calls these exams Independent Medical Exams "IME", but they are compulsory. Unfortunately these medical examinations are often biased as Unum is the company hiring the doctor.In this video, attorneys Rachel Alters and Cesar Gavidia discuss the common things to expect i...

Following a denial of disability benefits and after all administrative appeals with the disability insurance company have been exhausted, the insurance company's final appeal denial typically signals the closing of the administrative record. Once the administrative record has been closed no further evidence, documentation or information can be added or supplemented to the disability claim. This means that if y...

Insurance companies frequently terminate long term disability benefits after paying a claim for several years, even when the claimant's condition remains the same. It would seem unfair that one's benefits can be cut off when their disabling condition has not improved or changed in any way. However, it is quite common that a person who has been on disability for several years, who has been approved for "any occ...

As a general rule, no, the rules of evidence do not apply to ERISA disability insurance cases. The purpose of the rules of evidence is to regulate the evidence that a jury may use to reach a verdict. Since the trier of fact in an ERISA case is a federal judge and not a jury, and the trial itself is often in the form of a hearing before the federal judge, without the presentation of witnesses or evidence outsid...

Every person that experiences pain also has a secondary dysfunction of their mental state. How could a person be in good spirits when he or she is suffering from a painful medical condition and unable to work? In this video, disability insurance lawyers Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup discuss how disability insurance companies are manipulating the mental nervous...