Attorney Representation for Your Lincoln Disability Insurance Lawsuit
You probably feel as if the appeal review conducted by Lincoln was a sham and you never had a chance to have your Lincoln disability benefit denial reversed. You may feel that Lincoln is calling you a liar, causing you to question if it is even worth filing a Lincoln disability lawsuit is exactly Lincoln’s plan. The sad truth is that the law governing long-term disability insurance claims favors disability insurance companies and therefore a high percentage of Lincoln disability appeal denials are upheld. Lincoln hopes that you will go away and that they can strong-arm you to return to work out of financial necessity. The good news is that with a strong legal strategy your Lincoln disability benefit lawsuit can result in a recovery of your disability benefits.
What Should You Expect In A Lincoln Disability Insurance Lawsuit?
Through our experience of having helped thousands of Lincoln Financial’s disability insurance claimants nationwide, we would like the opportunity to help you win your Lincoln financial disability insurance lawsuit. In order to help you understand what to expect in a Lincoln financial disability insurance lawsuit, attorneys Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup have prepared the Lincoln disability lawsuit video below. We encourage you to contact any of our disability insurance lawyers for a free immediate review of your Lincoln disability claim denial.
When Can a Lincoln Financial Disability Insurance Lawsuit Be Filed?
The answer to this question depends on whether you have a claim that is governed by The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, also known as (ERISA.) If you have a Lincoln disability claim 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 Lincoln until you have gone through the appeals process and received a denial of the appeal for long-term disability benefits.
An ERISA lawsuit usually must be filed within either 3 years of your date of disability or the date of the final disability denial decision. If Lincoln fails to make a timely decision on your appeal, you can file suit without having to wait for Lincoln’s appeal decision. 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, an administrative appeal is usually not required by Lincoln 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.
Our Clients Have Recovered Lincoln Disability Benefits in 99% of our Lincoln Disability Lawsuits
As much as we love to beat up Lincoln for their wrongful disability claim denials, we know how to set our egos aside. Our goal for every client is to try to resolve their Lincoln claim in the most expedient and efficient manner possible. Upon review of your disability denial letter from Lincoln we can immediately let you know if you have a claim that we think we can help you with. We look forward to speaking with you to discuss your options against Lincoln.
What Are the Most Challenging Issues in a Lincoln Financial Disability Insurance Lawsuit?
The most challenging aspect of any disability lawsuit is the fact that your Lincoln financial disability insurance lawsuit denial is likely governed by ERISA, a pro-insurance company federal law that governs almost all employer-provided disability policies. ERISA was designed so that insurance companies could offer affordable benefits to employees and in return have limited lawsuit expenses if a disability claim is denied. If your disability policy was not provided by your employer, then you will not have to worry about the ERISA lawsuit limitations. In our video below, disability attorneys Stephen Jessup and Gregory Dell discuss the reasons why ERISA makes disability lawsuits against a company like Lincoln challenging.
Five Reasons ERISA Disability Laws Favor Lincoln
- No jury trials are permitted
- No punitive damages
- Very limited discovery
- The Judge usually must apply a standard of review that defers to the insurance company’s conclusion that you are not disabled
- The Judge can remand the case back to Lincoln for any additional chance to review the claim and deny it again
How Much Does Our Firm Charge to Handle a Lincoln Disability Lawsuit?
The proper preparation of a lawsuit against Lincoln takes a lot of legal time and our law firm is selective in the type and quantity of cases we accept. Providing the highest level of legal work and personal attention to your claim is a fundamental mode of operation for every lawyer in our firm. We are not high volume social security lawyers that are trying to handle disability insurance claims against Lincoln.
We have been handling claims against Lincoln for over 30 years. We only handle Lincoln disability lawsuits on a contingency fee basis. This means that we charge you a percentage of the disability benefits that we recover on your behalf. 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.
More than 90% of the disability lawsuits that we have handled against Lincoln have resolved in a one-time lump sum settlement. We encourage you to review some of our Lincoln resolved case summaries to learn more about our experience. Most of our Lincoln disability lawsuit settlements have confidentiality provisions which limit our ability to discuss specific details about the cases.
Collecting Lincoln Disability Benefits Is A Reality
Through our 30+ years of experience suing Lincoln and our daily work on behalf of Lincoln disability claimants nationwide, we have seen and we are constantly aware of every claims handling technique used by Lincoln. We are one of the few law firms in the entire country that has the experience of going through a jury trial and receiving a favorable verdict against Lincoln. As a result of our years of battling Lincoln we have established a strong reputation and a unique litigation technique that allows us to cut through the traditional 18 to 24 month delay in resolving a Lincoln disability lawsuit.
We encourage you to contact any of our disability insurance lawyers to discuss some strategies for a possible resolution of your Lincoln disability denial. It is incredible and sad how many people we see give up the fight following a claim denial as they don’t want to deal with Lincoln. Our lawyers make the lawsuit process as simple as possible for claimants by requiring almost no time or effort by the claimant to pursue a Lincoln lawsuit. Any of our disability lawyers are available for an immediate free phone consultation to discuss your Lincoln claim denial.
What are the Top 10 Reasons for Lincoln Disability Denials?
- Lincoln denied the claim based on objective medical evidence
- Lincoln’s in-house doctor denied the disability claim
- With no exam a third party medical company denied a Lincoln claim
- With functional limitations Lincoln denied a disability claim because claimant has the ability to perform sedentary occupation
- After a compulsory medical exam a doctor hired by Lincoln denied the disability claim
- Lincoln denied the claim based on a vocational consultant evaluation of employability in another occupation
- Lincoln ignored claimant’s treating doctor’s opinion of limited work restrictions and denied claim
- Based on video surveillance Lincoln denied disability claim
- My definition of disability changed from own occupation to any occupation and Lincoln denied my disability claim
- Lincoln based your denial on a mental disability and not a physical disability and therefore limited your benefits to 24 months
