• Hartford - Aetna Lawsuit & Denial Tips. What to do after you have been denied disability benefits.

What Should You Expect When Filing A Hartford Disability Lawsuit?

When it comes to suing Hartford you should expect Hartford to stand behind their decision to deny your long term disability benefits. To say Hartford has an “ego” would be an understatement. We have filed ERISA disability lawsuits against Hartford in federal courts across the country. Hartford uses the same claims handling procedure in almost every disability case and they believe that if they have reviewed the denied claim reasonably, then a Federal Judge cannot reverse or remand their decision. Despite the tough stance Hartford will often take after the filing of a lawsuit, our disability attorneys have been successful at recovering long term disability benefits from Hartford. In more than 98% of the disability lawsuits we have filed against Hartford, we have been able to reach a negotiated lump sum settlement on behalf of our clients. In the videos above we discuss some Hartford lawsuits and our law firms experience in handling Hartford lawsuits. Once you contact us, we will review your denial letter, and let you know immediately if we can assist you to recover benefits from Hartford. We do not charge any fees or costs unless we are able to make a recovery for you.

  • ERISA Disability Lawsuit Challenges
  • ERISA Disability Benefits Lawsuits - What You Must Know

Why are Hartford Lawsuits Challenging For Disability Claimants?

More than 95% of the Hartford disability insurance policies sold are governed by ERISA. If your disability coverage was provide by your employer, then your policy is likely governed by ERISA. ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) is an unfair federal law that governs all disability insurance policies that are provided as an employee benefit. The law was designed to protect individual employees, but in reality it does a lot more for insurance companies. In our videos above we discuss the general challenges present in every ERISA disability benefit lawsuit. ERISA policy holders do not start on a level playing field and some examples of why ERISA is unfair are as follows:

  1. Only a Federal Judge will determine the outcome of your lawsuit and no jury trial is allowed;
  2. Regardless of the actions taken by Hartford the court cannot award any punitive or bad faith damages;
  3. The ability to take depositions of Hartford employees is very limited and the Prudential employees and doctors can hide behind what we call the ERISA shield;
  4. The Judge is usually required to apply a standard of review, known as an arbitrary and capricious review, that defers to insurance company's conclusion regardless of whether the Judge agrees with Hartford's decision to deny benefits;
  5. The Judge can remand the case back to Hartford without awarding un-paid benefits and give Hartford another chance to review the claim.

Our Resolved Hartford Disability Benefit Cases (27)

  1. Aetna Removes 24 Month Limitation for Mental Health Conditions
  2. Federal Court Overturns Aetna Denial Of Disability Benefits
  3. Hartford overturned its previous denial of LTD benefits for Illinois Account Representative
  4. Hartford overturned previous denial of long term disability benefits for New York Consultant
  5. After appeal filed by Attorney Jay Symonds, Hartford overturned its second denial of long term disability benefits for Alabama CEO
  6. After appeal filed by Attorney Jay Symonds, Hartford overturned its previous denial of long term disability benefits for Tennessee Claims Supervisor
  7. Hartford Reinstates Disability Benefits to HR Manager
  8. After appeal filed by Attorney Jay Symonds, Hartford overturned its previous denial of long term disability benefits for Alabama CEO
  9. Hartford has a Pattern of Conducting Surveillance on a Claimant’s Birthday
  10. Dell & Schaefer Successfully Appeals Denial Of Benefits To Former Excel Energy Employee
  11. Alex Palamara Wins Another Hartford Disability Appeal
  12. Hartford Overturns Denial of Long-term Disability Benefits For Disabled JP Morgan Chase Banker
  13. Hartford Agrees to Overturn its Previous Denial of Long Term Disability Benefits for an Employee of Adventist HealthCare who suffers from RSD/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
  14. Administrative Appeal by Dell & Schaefer Helps Disabled Man with Eye Disorders Get Approved for Short Term Disability Benefits with Hartford; Long Term Benefits Next
  15. Disability Attorney Cesar Gavidia Wins Hartford Disability Appeal For Target Employee With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Chronic Neck Pain
  16. Hartford Buys Out Disability Policy Following Appeal
  17. Hartford Reversed Decision To Terminate Claimant’s LTD Benefits After Submitting an Appeal
  18. Hartford ERISA Disability Appeal Victory for a Jet Operator Suffering with Chronic Back Pain
  19. Hartford Settles Disability Claim of 60 Year-Old Account Executive After Terminating LTD Benefits
  20. Hartford Reinstates Long Term Disability Benefits on Appeal to Computer Systems Administrator Suffering with Chronic Back Pain
  21. Hartford Settles Disability Claim of 60 Year-Old Account Executive After Terminating LTD Benefits
  22. Hartford Admits Decision to Deny LTD Benefits to Claimant with Chronic Lyme Disease Was Wrong
  23. Hartford reverses disability benefit denial after previously paying 62 year old sales rep for 6 years
  24. Disability lawyers win ERISA long term disability appeal against Hartford
  25. Hartford agrees to lump-sum buyout of long-term disability policy for account executive
  26. Hartford and Unum approve long-term disability benefits for disabled radiologist
  27. Hartford approves long-term disability benefits for teaching assistant with multiple sclerosis

Answers to Your Hartford Disability Questions

How long will a Hartford Disability Benefit Lawsuit Take to Resolve?

All Hartford ERISA disability denials are required to be filed in Federal court as opposed to state court. The typical time frame a for a lawsuit in Federal Court is 18-24 months, but our law firms 30+ years of handling disability denials against Hartford often allows us to reach a claim resolution within 6 to 9 months of the filing of a lawsuit. The time frame for claim resolution will vary based upon the Federal court where we file your lawsuit and the specific facts of your disability claim. If you win your lawsuit, Hartford may appeal the decision and that can add another 12-18 months of time for the appellate court to render a final decision. We 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. As much as we love to tear apart Hartford for an unreasonable disability claim denial, we know how to set our egos aside and our goal for every client is to try to resolve their claim in the most expedient 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 can help you with. We appreciate you considering our law firm.

How Much Does Your Law Firm Charge to Handle a Handle Disability Lawsuit?

We only handle Hartford disability benefit lawsuits on a contingency fee basis. This means that our fee is a percentage of any disability benefits that we recover on your behalf.  The percentage we charge varies based upon the amount of your monthly benefit, the duration of benefits you are eligible for, and the risk level of your lawsuit.  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. In some lawsuits the court will award attorney fees and we use the attorney fee award to reduce the contingency fee payable to our firm. 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.

Can Your Law Firm File My Hartford Disability Lawsuit Regardless of Where I Live?

Regardless of where you live in the United States our law firm can file your lawsuit in any federal or state court. We have filed short and long term disability lawsuit in state and federal courts all over the country. The law provides a few options as to where a disability lawsuit can be filed and we will strategically pick the court which gives you the best advantage. If your claim is governed by ERISA, you will never be required to be appear in court.

Our clients have recovered more than $100 Million in Hartford Disability Benefits.

When Can a Hartford Disability Lawsuit be Filed?

Usually the language in your disability policy will determine when a lawsuit can be filed and we must review your policy in order to provide an accurate answer. An ERISA lawsuit usually must be filed within either three years of your date of disability or the date of the final disability denial decision. The answer to this question depends on whether you have an ERISA governed disability policy or private insurance policy that is not governed by ERISA. If you have a Hartford disability policy 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 completed your ERISA appeal. 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, which is rare, 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.

Recent Hartford Disability Benefit Lawsuits

  1. Can Employer’s Transfer of Coverage Effect an Employee’s Disability Claim?
  2. Court Finds Video Surveillance Renders Claimant’s Self-Reporting Unreliable and Upholds Hartford’s Termination of LTD Benefits
  3. Can Medical Records Created After the Eligibility Period Support a Claim for Disability Benefits?
  4. Appeals Court Upholds Hartford’s Termination of Disability Benefits
  5. Is the Hartford Disability Purchase of Aetna Bad for Aetna LTD Policy Holders?
  6. Hartford Disability Company Field Interview Request and Video Surveillance
  7. Hartford Long Term Disability Benefit Denial Reversed by Minnesota Federal Judge
  8. Federal District Court Overturns Hartford’s Denial of Long Term Disability Benefits
  9. Hartford Denial of Disability Benefits to Claimant with Fibromyalgia is Reversed!
  10. Statute of Limitations Provision In Disability Policy Enforceable under ERISA  2

FAQ

Do you work in my state?

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 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.

What are your fees?

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.

Do I have to come to your office to work with your law firm?

No. For purposes of efficiency and to reduce expenses for our clients we have found that 99% of our clients prefer to communicate via telephone, e-mail, fax, GoToMeeting.com sessions, or Skype. 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.

How can I contact you?

When you call us during normal business hours you will immediately speak with a disability attorney. We can be reached at 800-682-8331 or by email. Lawyer 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.

Reviews

Bruce R. (Arizona)

Steve Dell has done an exceptional job with my disability application process. The firm is extremely well managed. They have acquired an incredible amount of experience over many years. I recommend them for disability insurance claims without reservation. 

Don (Florida)

I called this firm a few months ago completely disparaged due to a company cutting off disability benefits at a time that nearly caused me to lose everything.

Attorney Alex Palmera and Danielle worked hard to reach an amicable settlement and my case was settled a few months later. This is a good firm and the specific expertise in disability claims saved me countless hours of hassle at a time when an already fragile state existed.

Thank you Mr. Palamara and Danielle.

Sandra B. (Arkansas)

I have nothing but good things to say about how my buyout was handled with my disability claim. The level of professionalism was amazing. All of my questions and concerns were answered either by Danielle L. or Alex P. in such a timely manner and with such care I would recommend them in a heartbeat to anyone needing to approach their provider with buyout options.

They did a fantastic job communicating between the provider and me, always keeping my best interest at heart and always answering my many many questions. They really did take most of the stress out of this whole situation. I would give them a 10 out of 10 for every step of this crazy journey. Thank you so much for helping me through this.

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