Disability Insurance Lawsuit Stories

In Tiedel v. Reliance Standard life Insurance Company (Reliance), Plaintiff Tiedel, a full-time flight engineer for Kalitta Air, was in the pilot seat of a single engine plane that crashed in January 1979. He suffered numerous fractures and required surgery. He developed Hepatitis C due to a blood transfusion he received following the accident.In December 2013, the Hepatitis C recurred and there was ...

Application for Long-term Disability Under Kaiser Health PlanRenee Monroe worked as a Human Resources Compliance Specialist for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (“Kaiser”). Beginning in 2013 Ms. Monroe began experiencing significant low back pain and was taking off of work by her physicians. An MRI of her lower back indicated diffuse disk bulges at the L5-S1 vertebral disc. Ms. M...

In the case of Cheryl L. Wallace v. Oakwood Healthcare, Inc. (Oakwood), Plaintiff was employed by Oakwood Healthcare, Inc. Health System as a registered nurse when she became ill in October 2012 and took medical leave. She returned to work on April 7, 2013, but stopped working again on May 13, 2013, and did not return.Plaintiff filed a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits. There were som...

In Jordan Harper v. Aetna Life Insurance Company, (Aetna), Plaintiff’s husband, Douglas Harper, died on December 31, 2017, in a single car accident to which there were no witnesses. The accident report noted there were no skid marks or any indication the driver of the car took any evasive action. The death certificate showed the cause of death as “multiple blunt force injuries....

In Monroe v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 2020 WL 143005 (E.D. Cal. March 24, 2020), Plaintiff worked for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (“Kaiser”) until 2014 when chronic lumbar back pain caused her stop working. She applied for long term disability benefits (LTD) but was denied. Plaintiff hen filed suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) to recover benefits due to her....

In Griffin v. AT&T Umbrella Benefit Plan No. 3, Plaintiff worked for a few years for Wisconsin Bell, Inc. (Wisconsin Bell) as a premises technician. Wisconsin Bell is a participant in a disability plan administered by Sedgwick Claims Management Service, Inc. (Sedgwick). The Plan offered both short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) benefits to qualifying participants.Participants...

In Cummings v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co. (Hartford), Plaintiff was employed by the Free-Port McMoran Corporation (Plan) when he became disabled due to diagnoses of degenerative disc disease which caused him chronic debilitating pain and myofascial pain syndrome.Plaintiff was covered under his employer’s Group Long Term Disability Plan through Hartf...

In Michael G. Miller v. Reliance Standard Insurance Company (Reliance), Plaintiff worked for Lake Charles Pilots, Inc. (LCP) as a riverboat pilot when he quit working due to a disability. At the time his employer provided short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) coverage through Prudential Life Insurance Company.Prudential paid Plaintiff short-term disability bene...

In Karen Gammon v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (Reliance), Plaintiff worked for Cape Cod Hospital for 23 years as a medical transcriptionist when she stopped working due to pain from sciatica. She applied for total long-term disability (LTD) benefits through her employer's insurance provider, Reliance.Plaintiff claimed that sitting for more than 20 minutes at a time caused her excruc...

In Lavery v. Restoration Hardware Long Term Disability Benefits Plan, 2019 WL 4155038 (1st Cir. September 3, 2019), Plaintiff John Lavery ("Lavery"), who was disabled following a diagnosis of malignant melanoma, brought claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") against Defendants Restoration Hardware Long Term Disability Benefits Plan ("the Plan") and Aetna Life Insurance Company ("Aet...

On May 22, 2014, at about 9:30 a.m., Joseph Arruda was traveling on a four-lane highway in Hadley, Massachusetts when his car suddenly crossed all lanes of traffic, hit an oncoming car, then hit the curb, rolled over, and landed with its wheels on the ground on the opposite side of the road than the one in which he was originally traveling. He was alive when reached by first responders but died momen...

In Giovanna Reichard v. United of Omaha Life Insurance Company (Mutual of Omaha or Omaha), Plaintiff, a nurse employed by a hospital, suffered from headaches, arthritis, Crohn's disease, and fibromyalgia. She eventually had to quit work because of her illnesses and applied for long-term disability (LTD) benefits through her employer's group-disability plan administered by Mutual of Omaha....

The case of Sunil Srinivasan, DDS v. Continental Assurance Company and Trustmark Insurance Company (Trustmark) presents one issue: Did Trustmark deny Plaintiff's claim for total disability or has it yet to make a final decision.Plaintiff was a self-employed endodontist when he developed back and leg pain so severe, he quit work. He had a disability insurance benefit through Trustmark that would provide him...

In Stephanie Dorris v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America (Unum), Plaintiff was President of Beans Plus, Inc. when about 20 years ago she became unable to perform the duties of her own occupation due to her suffering from endometriosis. She was covered under her employer's long term disability insurance benefit plan through Unum.Under the terms of the policy. LTD benefits would be pa...

The case of Stephanie Dorris v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America (Unum) is an example of how an inexperienced lawyer may make the difference in a Plaintiff obtaining or losing long term disability (LTD) benefits. Plaintiff, a former corporation president, was covered under her employer's LTD insurance plan through Unum.Under the terms of the policy, LTD benefits wou...

The case of Marco Martinez v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Sun Life) provides guidance in determining whether Sun Life, can deduct Veterans' Benefits from its monthly disability insurance benefit payment to the Plaintiff. In this case, Plaintiff, who was covered under a disability insurance policy issued by his employer and governed by ERISA, began receivin...

In Brian McConnell v. American General Life Insurance Company (AIG), Plaintiff, who had received long term disability (LTD) benefits for 10 years was suddenly informed by AIG that his benefits were terminated. Plaintiff appealed, but AIG rejected his appeal and upheld the termination of benefits. Plaintiff then filed this ERISA lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of...

In Cynthia Cheney v. United States Life Insurance company In the City of New York et. Al (U.S. Life), Plaintiff was covered under a disability insurance policy that was issued to an association, the American Bar Endowment (ABE). In order to be a member of the ABE, a member must also be a member of the American Bar Association (ABA).On January 17, 2014, Plaintiff submitted a claim for total d...

Does a Pre-Existing Back Injury to L4-5 Preclude Benefits for an Injury to L2-3?In Karl Meche v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., (MetLife), Plaintiff had worked for about six months as an account manager for Air Liquide USA LLC, when he injured his back at work. On July 20, 2016, he was moving a cylinder for his employer when he heard his "back pop." He reported the injury to his medic...

In James s. Louis v. The Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company (Hartford), Plaintiff was a Senior Principal Product Strategist with Oracle America Inc. (Oracle) when he was fired from his job effective October 13, 2017. Between May 2017 and the date of termination, Plaintiff worked only intermittently.Oracle provided its employees with a long term disability (LTD) benef...