Disability Insurance Lawsuit Stories

Dying of cancer, Thomas Amschwand did everything he was told to make sure his wife would collect on the life insurance policy he had through his employer. "He was obsessed with dotting every i and crossing every t," Melissa Amschwand-Bellinger recalled about her husband, who died in 2001 at age 30.But Spherion Corp., the temporary staffing company where Amschwand worked, told Amschwand-Bellinger she would ...

On June 19, 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States finally issued their opinion in the case of Wanda Glen v. Met Life. In a 6 to 3 decision announced Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that benefit denials by such companies must be examined with caution when circumstances suggest a high likelihood that financial considerations affected a benefits decision. While Ms. Glenn won her case and Met Life was ...

In response to a U.S. Supreme Court request for input, the Solicitor General has asked the Court to hear a case in hopes of broadening the types of equitable remedies available under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).The Solicitor General requested the Court to review Amschwand v. Spherion Corp., in which the Fifth Circuit rejected a breach of fiduciary duty claim by a plan beneficiary's ...

William Chapman worked as a Financial Consultant at Salomon Smith Barney, but stopped on June 5, 2004, following a series of heart attacks and angioplastic surgery in four occasions. Because of the side effects, he was unable to take medications to combat his high cholesterol. Both his primary care physician and the specialists treating him restricted him from work because of his conditions.Although he wor...

Unum Group Corp. has paid about $676 million in extra benefits to claimants in connection with a review of past claims decisions, officials say.Unum, Chattanooga, Tenn., has paid the benefits in the course of completing a claims reassessment process required by the state insurance regulators that have been participating in a large, multi-state examination of the company's handling of disability claims....

Supreme Court to weigh if insurers that pay and administer benefits have conflict of interest.When Wanda Glenn first sought disability benefits from MetLife Inc. in 2000, she "never in a million years" expected it would end up as a Supreme Court case.But on Wednesday, the justices will hear oral arguments in a dispute that is being closely watched by insurance companies and business groups. Depending o...

The Social Security system is choking on paperwork and spending millions of dollars a year screening dubious applications for disability benefits, according to lawsuits filed by whistle-blowers.Jessica Ortiz of San Diego said her disability insurer called more than 10 times after she was hurt in a car crash, insisting that she apply for Social Security. She was denied, as she had expected.Insurance com...

Arthur "Skip" Cross was the Director of Diversified's National Account Sales. Because of an aortic valve abnormality and problems stemming from that abnormality, Mr. Cross's doctor indicated on April 3, 2002, that Mr. Cross was never expected to return to full- or part-time work. His cardiologist, in a letter to Reliance dated June 23, 2004, stated that Mr. Cross was permanently disabled.Reliance then had ...

Lucy Sanzone was struck in the head by a fifty-pound iron rod that fell off a store shelf and suffered cervical disc herniations at the C6-C7 level. As a result of this injury, she began to suffer from neck and back pain and vertigo, and filed a claim with Hartford for long-term disability benefits after she stopped working in October 2004.Based on the job description provided to Hartford as part of making...

Michael Sullivan left the Knights of Columbus where he had worked as a financial consultant and began trading in the stock market for his own account at the end of 1999. He filed a claim for total disability benefits with Reassure in March 26, 2002, following an auto accident. On the application for disability benefits, Mr. Sullivan listed his occupation as "retired." After filing his claim statement and other...

A Computer Programmer who stopped working in 2002 because of chronic back pain is entitled to a trial on the issues, according to a federal appellate court. After stopping work because of his back pain, the claimant was denied long-term disability coverage by Prudential through a policy provided by his employer. After Prudential denied his claim, he filed suit in federal court.Twice the trial court granted...

A judge in federal court ruled that by relying on an outdated job description in making its determination regarding a claim for long-term disability benefits Prudential acted arbitrarily. The Prudential failed to consider his current job duties as a Salesman in light of his current conditions, which included emphysema and coronary artery disease.The Court ruled that had the proper job duties been used in P...

Dr. Schwob applied for long-term disability benefits in 1997 through a policy provided by her employer for a disability caused by Lyme disease. She claimed a physical disability based on the disease's effect on her central nervous system, and argued that she could no longer perform her job as a pathlogist. Three of Dr. Schwob's treating doctors agreed with the assessment that her Lyme disease was the cause of ...

Theron Oliver was a Systems Support Specialist working for Coca-Cola, which provided long-term disability benefits to its employees. In October of 1999, Mr. Oliver was involved in a car accident. As a result, he developed severe headaches and pain and stiffness in his neck and upper back. He then applied for and received 26 weeks of short-term disability benefits before applying for long-term disability benefi...

In 2003, Dr. Morrow, a Dentist stopped working and sold his practice as result of suffering from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In order to determine if Dr. Morrow was eligible for disability benefits, Boston Mutual, his disability carrier, hired Disability Reinsurance Management Service, Inc.(hereinafter known as "DRMS") to administer and handle the claim. This means that DRMS was gi...

Hugo Diaz, a computer programmer for Bank One, stopped working on January 31, 2002 due to chronic back pain, and underwent a lumbar fusion surgery on February 4, 2002. Mr. Diaz's job was classified as sedentary and required him to be sitting for 90% of the time. On July 22, 2002, Diaz filed his application for long-term disability and on August 27, 2002 Prudential denied Mr. Diaz's claim on the basis that his ...

Ms. Mote was injured in a car accident in August 1997, and stopped working for Arthur Anderson as a Human Resource Generalist on April 10, 1998, because of her back pain and fibromyalgia. She applied for long-term disability benefits provided by Arthur Anderson through Aetna, and began receiving benefits on July 10, 1998.After receiving benefits for five years, Aetna discontinued disability benefits on Dec...

William Polk was employed as a Salesman for Tyco International prior to being in an automobile accident on May 24, 2002. As the end of the elimination period in the policy approached, Mr. Polk applied for long-term disability benefits on November 12, 2002.Hartford granted preliminary approval to Mr. Polk's disability benefits claim on February 18, 2003, subject to the receipt of additional information, whi...

On July 26, 2002, Lee Williams, a truck driver for SYSCO since late 1994, became sick and was diagnosed later that year with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). As a truck driver, Mr. Williams was required to:Continuously lift, bend, and carry up to 20 pounds;Frequently climb stairs, pull, push, reach, grasp, sit, stand, walk, finely manipulate, and lift up to 50 pounds; and,Occasionally climb ladders, kneel, ...

(Group / ERISA Disability Policy) Carol Post, a dentist working at a hospital in New Jersey, was involved in a car accident in November 1993. Despite her whiplash injuries, she returned to work as a dentist, but was forced to stop working as a dentist because of her severe pain. She attempted in December 1993 to return to work as a pharmacist, since she also held a pharmacy degree. Ms. Post worked for nine mon...