What to Expect in a Hartford Disability Benefit Denial Lawsuit

You probably feel as if the Appeal review conducted by Hartford was a sham and you never had a chance to have your Hartford disability benefit denial reversed. Your feeling of being called a liar by Hartford and questioning if it is even worth filing a Hartford disability lawsuit is exactly Hartford’s plan. The sad truth is that the law governing long term disability insurance claims favors disability insurance companies and therefore a high percentage of Hartford disability appeal denials are upheld. Hartford hopes that you will just go away and that they can strong arm you to return to work out of financial necessity. The good news is that with a strong legal strategy your Hartford disability benefit lawsuit can result in a recovery of your disability benefits.  

What Should You Expect In A Hartford Disability Lawsuit?

Through our experience of having helped thousands of Hartford disability insurance claimants nationwide, we would like the opportunity to help you win your Hartford disability benefit lawsuit. In order to help you understand what to expect in a Hartford disability lawsuit, Attorneys Gregory Dell and Cesar Gavidia have prepared the Hartford disability lawsuit video below. We encourage you to contact any of our disability insurance lawyers for a free immediate review of your Hartford disability claim denial.

When Can A Hartford Disability Lawsuit Be Filed?

The answer to this question depends on whether you have a claim that is governed by The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, also known as (ERISA.). If you have a Hartford disability claim that was provided to you as an employee benefit, then your claim is almost always governed by ERISA. An ERISA disability lawsuit cannot be filed against Hartford until you have received a denial of the appeal you submitted to Hartford. 

An ERISA lawsuit usually must be filed within either 3 years of your date of disability or the date of the final disability denial decision. If Hartford fails to make a timely decision on your appeal, you can file suit without having to wait for Hartford’s appeal decision. The law governing time periods to file lawsuits is known as the Statute of Limitations and it is an area of law that is regularly changing and not consistent from state to state. 

In a Non-ERISA disability benefit claim denial an appeal is usually not required by Hartford and most lawsuits can be filed 90 days after proof of loss is due but no later than 3 years after the date of denial. The period of time in which a lawsuit must be filed can be a complicated analysis determined by a combination of the policy language and the law of the state in which the person was denied. The best thing to do in many cases to avoid a statutory problem is to file a lawsuit as soon as reasonably possible.

Our Clients Have Recovered Hartford Disability Benefits in 99% of our Hartford Disability Lawsuits

As much as we love to beat up Hartford for their wrongful disability claim denials, we know how to set our egos aside. Our goal for every client is to try to resolve their Hartford claim in the most expedient, cost-effective, and efficient manner possible. Upon review of your disability denial letter from Hartford we can immediately let you know if you have a claim that we think we can help you with. We look forward to speaking with you to discuss your options against Hartford.

What Are the Most Challenging Issues in a Hartford Disability Lawsuit?

The most challenging aspect of any disability lawsuit is the fact that your Hartford disability benefit denial is likely governed by ERISA. ERISA is a pro-insurance company federal law that governs almost all employer-provided disability policies. ERISA was designed so that insurance companies could offer affordable benefits to employees and in return have limited lawsuit expenses if a disability claim is denied. If your disability policy was not provided by your employer, then you will not have to worry about the ERISA lawsuit limitations. In our video below, disability attorneys Stephen Jessup and Gregory Dell discuss the reasons why ERISA makes disability lawsuits against a company like Hartford challenging.

Five Reasons ERISA Disability Laws Favor Hartford 

1. No jury trials are permitted;
2. No punitive damages;
3. Very limited discovery;
4. The Judge usually must apply a standard of review that defers to the insurance company’s conclusion that you are not disabled;
5. The Judge can remand the case back to Hartford for any additional chance to review the claim and deny it again;

How Much Does Our Firm Charge to Handle a Hartford Disability Lawsuit?

The proper preparation of a lawsuit against Hartford takes a lot of legal time and our law firm is selective in the type and quantity of cases we accept. Providing the highest level of legal work and personal attention to your claim is a fundamental mode of operation for every lawyer in our firm. We are not high volume social security lawyers that are trying to handle disability insurance claims against Hartford.

We have been handling claims against Hartford for over 30 years. We only handle Hartford disability lawsuits on a contingency fee basis. This means that we charge you a percentage of the disability benefits that we recover on your behalf. If we are not successful at recovering any disability benefits for you, then you do not owe us any attorney fees or cost for the work that we have done on your behalf. 

More than 90% of the disability lawsuits that we have handled against Hartford have resolved in a one-time lump sum settlement. We encourage you to review some of our Hartford resolved case summaries to learn more about our experience. Most of our Hartford disability lawsuit settlements have confidentiality provisions which limit our ability to discuss specific details about the cases.

Collecting Hartford Disability Benefits Is A Reality

Through our 30+ years of experience litigating against Hartford and our daily work on behalf of Hartford disability claimants nationwide, we have seen and we are constantly aware of every claims handling technique used by Hartford. We are one of the few law firms in the entire country that has the experience of going through a jury trial and receiving a favorable verdict against Hartford. As a result of our years of battling Hartford we have established a strong reputation and a unique litigation technique that allows us to cut through the traditional 18 to 24 month delay in resolving a Hartford disability lawsuit.

We encourage you to contact any of our disability insurance lawyers to discuss some strategies for a possible resolution of your Hartford disability denial. It is incredible and sad how many people we see give up the fight following a claim denial as they don’t want to deal with Hartford. Our lawyers make the lawsuit process as simple as possible for claimants by requiring almost no time or effort by the claimant to pursue a Hartford lawsuit. Any of our disability lawyers are available for an immediate free phone consultation to discuss your Hartford claim denial.

What are the Top 10 Reasons for Hartford Disability Denials?

1. Hartford denied the claim based on objective medical evidence
2. Hartford’s in-house doctor denied the disability claim
3. With no exam a third party medical company denied a Hartford claim
4. With functional limitations Hartford denied a disability claim because claimant has the ability to perform sedentary occupation
5. After a compulsory medical exam a doctor hired by Hartford denied the disability claim
6. Hartford denied the claim based on a vocational consultant evaluation of employability in another occupation
7. Hartford ignored claimant’s treating doctor’s opinion of limited work restrictions and denied claim
8. Based on video surveillance Hartford denied disability claim
9. My definition of disability changed from own occupation to any occupation and Hartford denied my disability claim
10. Hartford based your denial on a mental disability and not a physical disability and therefore limited your benefits to 24 months