Disability Insurance Lawsuit Stories

Recently, the California Department of Insurance settled with LINA, a daughter company of CIGNA - to the tune of $600,000. What was this penalty for? According to California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, LINA was apparently ignoring certain claims that might have been valid disability claims.Between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007 - LINA improperly handled insurance claims.  It seem...

Many companies offer short and long-term disability insurance coverage to protect a portion of an employee's monthly income in the event the employee is unable to work as a result of a sickness or injury. Employees pay the premiums for this insurance on a monthly basis so they'll have something to fall back on if they ever become sick or injured. Of course, many individuals have a sense of security because of ...

As an attorney for clients who go up against disability insurance companies all over the country, I can tell you that the insurance contracts are often full of legalese and gibberish that most individuals don't understand. Unfortunately, most individuals don't understand even the communication they receive from the disability insurance companies, such as why their claim has been denied. According to the outcom...

Many employees rely on disability insurance benefits if they have been injured or have developed a sickness which prevents them from working.  Disability insurance provides individuals with a percentage of his or her typical salary until the employee is able to return to work or turns age 65. However, what employees aren't usually aware of is that as soon as disability benefits start, the disability insur...

During the week of July 13, 2009, Attorney Gregory Dell spent several days in Portland, Oregon deposing multiple employees of The Standard Disability Insurance Company. Prior to taking the depositions, The Standard refused to make their employees available for deposition and instructed their attorney to file a motion preventing Attorney Gregory Dell from taking the depositions. The court received multiple moti...

The case of Mary Midgett v. Washington Group International Long Term Disability Plan, 561 F.3d 887 (8th Cir. 2009) is a reminder that there are discrepancies in how Federal courts apply the law with regard to the weight of credibility to give to an insured's treating physicians versus the opinions of doctors hired by the insurance carrier to conduct reviews of medical records only.Mary Midgett was a contra...

The recently decided case of Barteau v. Prudential, 2009 WL 1505193 (C.D. Cal.) is a reminder of what ends Prudential will go to in denying a claim for benefits. Carl Barteau was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at DeVry Institute of technology for almost eight years before becoming disabled. Mr. Barteau had suffered problems with his right eye since childhood. In 2002 he underwent surgery for glaucoma, w...

Since late 2004, our client, Sumiko Besser has been battling Prudential Insurance Company in an effort to secure her long-term disability benefits. Prudential currently owes her in excess of $900,000 in unpaid long-term disability benefits. Our client became disabled on May 10, 2004, as a result of chronic neck pain caused by multi-level degenerative disk disease. Dell Disability Lawyers submitted two administ...

In, Lona v. Prudential, 2009 WL 801868 (S.D. Cal)., the Court determined that the opinions of three doctors hired by the insurance carrier to review the insured's medical records did not carry as much weight as the opinions of three other doctors that physically examined the insured. This case shows that Prudential will continue to hire doctors to review a claimant's disability file, until they have found the ...

Robert Stanford was a nurse anesthetist in a hospital in South Carolina. In his position, he was exposed to and responsible for administering anesthesia and narcotics to surgical and obstetric patients. Shortly after starting work, he began taking Fentanyl, a powerful narcotic. By September of 2003 he had become addicted to the drug, and entered rehabilitation the following month.After release from rehabil...

Cigna attempted to deny lifetime disability benefits for a claimant suffering from a psychiatric organic brain disorder, but the district court of Colorado disagreed. Following a remand from the court of appeals, which ruled the district court had erred by considering evidence outside the "administrative record," the district court nonetheless reaffirmed its ruling in plaintiff's favor after carefully consider...

The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has denied First Unum Life Insurance Co.'s request to reconsider a decision in which it found the company arbitrarily denied long-term disability benefits to a tax attorney with colon cancer. First Unum, a unit of Unum Group (NYSE: UNM), filed the petition for rehearing with the New York-based federal appeals court in January, saying that the court "misapprehended key f...

Our client, a breast cancer survivor, was a senior property manager for a large property management company for nearly fifteen years. As a senior property manager, our client was responsible for planning, controlling and directing the day to day operation of multiple properties. Year after year she received numerous recognitions for the quality of her work.Like many breast cancer survivors, our client expe...

Dell Disability Lawyers has filed a long-term disability breach of contract lawsuit in federal court against Conneticut General Life Insurance Company ("Connecticut General") seeking lifetime disability benefits. Our client, a former floor trader on the American Stock Exchange, was disabled due to bipolar disorder, a sickness, from March 1995 until April 2006. In 2004, while our client was totally disabled due...

Our client, a chiropractor, fractured his arm and tore his rotator cuff as a result of a skiing accident in March 2008. Despite his injuries our client attempted to return to full-time chiropractic performing manual spinal adjustments. His treating physicians advised him that he should cut back on the number of patients he was treating pre-accident and see if he can handle a limited patient load. This client c...

A federal jury in Boston found that Unum, the nation's largest disability insurer, had committed fraud in some cases by requiring customers to apply for Social Security benefits even though it knew they were not eligible.But the verdict, based on a sample of six claims, contained enough ambiguity to leave both sides declaring victory in the case, filed on behalf of the Social Security Administration. In a ...

One of the nation's largest health insurers has agreed to pay $50 million in a settlement announced today after being accused of overcharging millions of Americans for health care.The New York attorney general's office launched an investigation after receiving hundreds of complaints about Oxford Insurance and its parent company, United Health Group, which claims to rely on "independent research from across...

This case involves a long-term disability lawsuit against Lincoln National Life Insurance (administered by MetLife).Our client is a chiropractor that is totally disabled following a five level cervical fusion surgery. Met Life paid benefits for approximately 18 months following his surgery and then denied his benefits. MetLife opined that based upon a review of the medical records by their in-house orthope...

After receiving long-term disability benefits from Prudential beginning on April 17, 2000, for thoracic outlet syndrome, pronater teres syndrome, and carpal tunnel syndrome, Wayne Urso's benefits were cut off, despite support from his doctor. Mr. Urso's doctor gave him restrictions that prevented him from continuing to work in his position as a computer programmer. Prudential claimed that Mr. Urso was no longe...

Robin Doyle was a registered nurse working for ChoicePoint Services, and filed a claim for short-term disability benefits on January 30, 2004. She based her disability on a number of conditions, including anal fissure, enlarged internal hemorrhoids, and external anal skin tags. She underwent surgery on February 10, 2004, in an effort to solve these health problems.Liberty Life granted the maximum term of s...