Can my severance agreement eliminate my right to claim disability benefits?
It is a common occurrence for a disabled employee to be offered a severance agreement when they can no longer work due to a disabling medical condition. An employee must take great caution as the severance agreement may eliminate all future rights to any short or long term disability benefits. Here is an example of a potential client that recently contacted us. Employee began working in the finance department of a local University. For many years he struggled with and was treated for depression and anxiety, which he was able to manage. Recently, however, it began impacting his job performance at the University. The employee had been working with the University for less than 12 months when he filed for disability. He was notified by his supervisor that his work had become “substandard” and the University was evaluating whether to re-assign him to a new position or provide him with a severance package. Although the Employee wanted to explore filing a claim for disability benefits, he: (a) stopped taking his prescribed psychiatric medications more than two (2) years earlier; and (b) had not treated with a mental health professional for nearly two (2) years. In short, he lacked any medical support for his disability. Additionally, because he had been employed at the University for less than one year, the Long Term Disability (LTD) Plan’s Pre-Existing Condition limitation was also a factor. Given these fairly significant obstacles, the Employee determined he would continue to work as best he could while seeking appropriate treatment for his conditions. Once he re-established treatment he would consider filing a disability claim.
Several weeks later the Employee contacted counsel to review an executed Severance Agreement he signed with his now former employer. The Employee wanted to further discuss how he could establish a claim. The Employee was relying on a provision in the Severance Agreement that stated, in relevant part, that the University “agrees to pay [Employee] three months at his current salary…and benefits through May 15, 2016.” In short, the Employee believed that he would be entitled to file a claim for disability benefits through May 15th. However, after reviewing the University’s self-funded STD Plan and fully insured LTD Plan (both administered by the same carrier) it was clear the Employee would be excluded from coverage under both Plans because his coverage ended when he was no longer a “Member” (i.e., Actively at Work) eligible for coverage. In fact, both Plans specifically stated that employees no longer at work as part of a “severance agreement” were no longer eligible for coverage. Had the Employee consulted an attorney prior to signing the Severance Agreement, he would have been alerted to this critical eligibility issue and, quite possibly, could have avoided this harsh result.
This is an unfortunate, but not uncommon, set of circumstances. Employees trust that their Employer understands and considers all the terms and provisions in their employee benefit plans when drafting various employment agreements. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Time and again employees enter into agreements believing they remain eligible and covered only to learn from the insurance carrier that they are not. The simple truth is, regardless of what is said or promised, an Employer is not authorized to alter or amend the specific terms of a Benefit Plan Document (i.e., the Insurance Policy). Here, the University was not authorized to alter or extend the specific “actively at work” eligibility provision of the Plan and, therefore, the Employee’s disability coverage ended once he executed the Severance Agreement. Contact any of our disability insurance lawyers to discuss how we could assist you.
Resources to Help You Win Disability Benefits
Submit a Strong Appeal Package
We work with you, your doctors, and other experts to submit a very strong appeal.
Sue Your Disability Insurance Company
We have filed thousands of disability denial lawsuits in federal Courts nationwide.
Get Your Disability Application Approved
Prevent a Disability Benefit Denial
Negotiate a Lump-Sum Settlement
Our goal is to negotiate the highest possible buyout of your long-term disability policy.
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5 Ways We Help Get Your Benefits Paid
Our goal is to get your application for disability insurance benefits approved. Applying for disability insurance benefits can be a difficult process and the information you provide is critical. Most disability insurance companies look at your application in hopes of finding a reason to deny your claim. Your disability company will ask you to complete numerous forms, interview you, request lots of information, speak with your doctors and possibly request to have you examined by their hired gun doctor.
Through our experience of having helped thousands of disability insurance claimants, our disability insurance lawyers will guide you through the entire application process and give you the best chance to get your disability claim approved the first time.
If your disability insurance benefits have been wrongfully denied, then our disability insurance lawyers know exactly what it takes to get your disability claim approved. You only get once chance to submit an Appeal, therefore every piece of evidence that will support your disability claim must be included. The goal is to win your disability benefits at the Appeal level, but while preparing your Appeal you must consider how a federal judge will review your disability claim if your benefit denial is upheld.
Preparing a strong disability appeal package is an art that requires you to understand how the courts interpret your disability policy language, ERISA regulations / laws, and how to strategically present evidence in support of your definition of disability. We encourage you to contact any of our long-term disability attorneys for a free immediate review of your disability denial.
98% of the disability insurance lawsuits filed by our law firm have resulted in either the payment of benefits or a lump-sum settlement agreement. Our disability insurance attorneys have filed ERISA governed and private policy long term disability insurance lawsuits against every major disability insurance company in state and federal courts nationwide and we love fighting for the little guy against the multi-billion dollar insurance company giants.
We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients and we would like the opportunity to provide you with a free review of your disability benefit denial. There are many complex factors in a disability benefit lawsuit and the legal battle to win long term disability benefits can be fierce.
Approval of long-term disability is a continuous process as every disability insurance company will evaluate your eligibility for benefits on a monthly basis. You can never let your guard down and assume that your disability company will continue to pay your benefits for as long as you think you need them.
Our disability insurance law firm offers a reasonable flat fee monthly claim handling service in which we handle every aspect of your long-term disability claim and do whatever it takes to make sure you are paid every month.
Let's discuss if a lump-sum settlement or buyout of your disability insurance claim is both available and makes financial sense for you. Our disability insurance lawyers have negotiated more than five-hundred million dollars in disability insurance buyouts and we know how to get you a maximum settlement. A disability insurance company is not required to offer a buyout and not every disability company offers them.
Questions About Hiring Us
We are disability insurance attorneys that know how to get your short or long term disability benefits paid. As a nationwide law firm we have helped thousands of disability insurance claimants throughout the United States to collect hundreds of millions of dollars of disability insurance benefits from every major disability insurance company.
Our attorneys have been able to either get our clients paid monthly disability benefits or obtain a one-time lump-sum settlement in more than 98% of our cases. Our disability insurance lawyers have seen it all when it comes to disability insurance claims and we know exactly what it takes for your disability claim to be approved.
We offer disability insurance attorney representation nationwide and we welcome you to contact any of our LTD lawyers for a free immediate review of your disability claim. We also invite you to visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we have more than 900 videos and regularly provide tips to help protect your disability benefits.
Our disability insurance attorneys help individuals that have either purchased a long term disability insurance policy from an insurance company or obtained short or long term disability insurance coverage as a benefit from their employer. We have helped individuals in almost every type of occupation with monthly disability benefit payments ranging from $1,500 to $50,000.
Our clients include all types of employees ranging from retail associates, sales representatives, government employees, police officers, teachers, janitors, nurses, pilots, truck drivers, financial advisors, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, consultants, IT professionals, engineers, professional athletes, business owners, and high level executives.
A strong understanding and presentation of the duties of your occupation is essential for securing disability insurance benefits.
Yes. We are a national disability insurance law firm that is available to represent you regardless of where you live in the United States. We have partner lawyers in every state and we have filed lawsuits in most federal courts nationwide. Our disability insurance lawyers represent disability claimants at all stages of a claim for disability insurance benefits. There is nothing that our lawyers have not seen in the disability insurance world.
Since we represent disability insurance claimants at different stages of a disability insurance claim we offer a variety of different fee options. We understand that claimants living on disability insurance benefits have a limited source of income; therefore we always try to work with the claimant to make our attorney fees as affordable as possible.
The three available fee options are a contingency fee agreement (no attorney fee or cost unless we make a recovery), hourly fee or fixed flat rate.
In every case we provide each client with a written fee agreement detailing the terms and conditions. We always offer a free initial phone consultation and we appreciate the opportunity to work with you in obtaining payment of your disability insurance benefits.
No. For purposes of efficiency and to reduce expenses for our clients we have found that 99% of our clients prefer to communicate via phone, email, fax, or video conferencing sessions. If you prefer an initial in-person meeting please let us know. A disability company will never require you to come to their office and similarly we are set up so that we handle your entire claim without the need for you to come to our office.
When you call us during normal business hours you will immediately speak with a disability insurance attorney. We can be reached at 800-698-9159 or by email. Lawyers and staff must return all client calls same day. Client emails are usually replied to within the same business day and seem to be the preferred and most efficient method of communication for most clients.