Disability Insurance Lawsuit Stories

Insurer states client should have taken strong anti-psychotic drugs during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, claims she is too "logical" and "organized" to receive benefits.The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, known as MetLife (NYSE: MET), is being sued in United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, for refusing to honor its contractual obligation to pay long term disability insurance ...

Dell Disability Lawyers filed a disability insurance lawsuit against The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America in a New Jersey Federal court. The lawsuit involves a New Jersey OB/GYN's claim for long term disability benefits following injuries he suffered in a car accident.According to the disability lawyers involved with the lawsuit, Guardian Life Insurance paid the doctor for approximately two years...

A Federal lawsuit filed in United States District Court Southern District of Florida accuses the Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company of breaching its contract with Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T) and a BB&T employee. Filed by noted disability insurance law firm Dell and Schafer, the suit states that Hartford is refusing to pay benefits to the employee, a U.S. Patriot Act/Anti-Money Laundering ...

Dell Disability Lawyers filed a Federal Lawsuit against Life Insurance Company of North America (LINA), which is part of CIGNA Corp (CI.N). The lawsuit was filed after Cigna refused to pay disability benefits to a Florida teacher forced to stop working due to mental health issues such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.According to the disability lawsuit, filed in the Middle District of Flor...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently ordered a lower court to reconsider its decision that had affirmed Hartford Financial Insurance Company's denial of a woman's claim for disability benefits. Although the claimant has not yet been awarded her requested disability benefits, the Appeals Court's decision leaves her one step closer to achieving this goal.The Appeals Court remande...

A recent opinion from the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan shows how difficult it can be get a court to award disability benefits instead of just remanding a wrongful termination decision back to the plan administrator. Although the Court in this action remanded the case back to the plan administrator for a new review, it did award the claimant's Michigan disability attorney par...

A Federal District Court in Pennsylvania recently dismissed the case of a long-term disability claimant who claimed damages resulting from Prudential Insurance Company's delay in the approval of her claim for long-term disability insurance benefits. Although the claimant was eventually awarded disability benefits by Prudential Insurance Company, she still filed a lawsuit for the damages she allegedly suffered ...

A federal district court in California recently ruled that a disability claimant could not recover on his state-law claim for breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. This specific count is also known as "Bad Faith". The court found that the disability plan at issue fell under the federal ERISA statute, and, as such, his state-law claim was preempted by ERISA. ERISA prohibits bad faith claims...

A Federal District Court in New York recently dismissed the class action lawsuit of four individuals whose disability insurance claims were denied or terminated by the Unum Provident Corporation. The individuals filed the lawsuit because they believed that Unum denied or terminated their claims to meet expectations as to revenue and profit for the corporation. To understand the Court's decision, we must look a...

It isn't always the claimant who appeals a District Court decision. The District Court may rule in favor of the claimant and have its decision challenged by the disability insurance provider. Wenner v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is just such a case. Arguments were heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The case arose from Nashville, Tennessee. This entire disa...

An interesting disability claim arose in 2008 that highlights the challenges a disabled individual can face when a span of time exists between the time of a covered event and the manifestation of an injury associated with that event. This case against CIGNA is rare because it is an accident and sickness policy rather than a traditional disability insurance policy. It is also rare, because most disability insur...

Dr. Bruce Leipzig had been denied long-term disability benefits by Principal Life Insurance Company, and brought his ERISA case before the District Court covering the northern part of Texas. After hearing the case, the Court issued summary judgment in favor of the disability insurance company.The District Court, however, refused to consider Principal Life's request for attorney's fees, even though the phys...

A District Court ruling issued in Scranton, Pennsylvania highlights the importance of understanding the terms of a long-term disability insurance policy. It is common for these disability insurance policies to reduce monthly disability benefits by other benefits or income a claimant receives. This case is a good example of the complex language in disability insurance policies which can be subject to multiple i...

A recent Federal Court decision from New Jersey sided with a disability claimant who filed an ERISA suit after her disability insurance benefits were wrongfully denied by Liberty Mutual Life Insurance Company. The Court held that the claimant was both entitled to a fair and equitable rate of interest as well as reasonable attorney's fees under the circumstances of the case. The issue that I find frustrating ab...

A Federal Court determined that Prudential was wrong to terminate a man's disability insurance benefits by relying on a vocational expert who was not given enough information and a doctor who failed to explain why he disagreed with the claimant's treating physicians. Let's take a detailed look at the Court's opinion to understand its ruling.David Givens was a pharmacy technician at Medco. As a Medco employ...

New York Life has relied on video surveillance to deny thousands of claims for disability insurance benefits. This case is another classic example of New York Life wrongfully relying upon video surveillance to justify its disregard of the claimant's medical evidence. A Federal Court in California found that New York Life abused its discretion when it denied Todd Nash's claim. Let's take a closer look at the Co...

This case is a classic example of how an insurance company can offset its long-term disability payments because the insured is receiving benefits from other sources. In this case, the Court upheld ReliaStar's decision to reduce the monthly disability payment it sent to a veteran due to additional benefits the veteran was receiving from Veteran Affairs for the same disability. Let's take a closer look to see wh...

An Appeals Court recently upheld the decision by Cytec Industries and Broadspire Services to discontinue short-term disability benefits for an army veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The case is a classic example of why it is imperative for the insured to respond timely to the request of the insurance company for additional/monthly forms documenting the ongoing disability. Let's take a look...

A Federal Court of Appeals recently upheld Guardian's decision to terminate long-term disability payments to an executive after four years. In Schwalm v. Guardian, the Court found that Guardian's decision was supported by substantial evidence and was not arbitrary and capricious. Such evidence included that fact that during the final two years he was receiving disability benefits, Schwalm had been working upwa...

The Circuit Court of Appeals recently reviewed an unusual short term disability insurance denial by applying North Carolina law. The short-term disability coverage offered by TYCO is not governed by ERISA as the disability plan is self-funded. Unlike the majority of disability plans that are funded by disability insurance companies, a self-funded plan is generally not governed by ERISA. In this case, the North...