What to Expect in a Standard Disability Benefit Denial Lawsuit

You probably feel as if the Appeal review conducted by Standard was a sham and you never had a chance to have your Standard disability benefit denial reversed. Your feeling of being called a liar by Standard and questioning if it is even worth filing a Standard disability lawsuit is exactly Standard’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 Standard disability appeal denials are upheld. Standard hopes that you will just 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 Standard disability benefit lawsuit can result in a recovery of your disability benefits.  

What Should You Expect In A Standard Disability Lawsuit?

Through our experience of having helped thousands of Standard disability insurance claimants nationwide, we would like the opportunity to help you win your Standard disability benefit lawsuit. In order to help you understand what to expect in a Standard disability lawsuit, Attorneys Gregory Dell and Rachel Alters have prepared the Standard disability lawsuit video below. We encourage you to contact any of our disability insurance lawyers for a free immediate review of your Standard disability claim denial.

When Can A Standard Disability 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 Standard 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 Standard until you have received a denial of the appeal you submitted to Standard. 

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 Standard fails to make a timely decision on your appeal, you can file suit without having to wait for Standard’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 appeal is usually not required by Standard 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 Standard Disability Lawsuits.

As much as we love to beat up Standard 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 Standard claim in the most expedient and efficient manner possible. Upon review of your disability denial letter from Standard 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 Standard.

What Are the Most Challenging Issues in a Standard Disability Lawsuit?

The most challenging aspect of any disability lawsuit is the fact that your Standard disability benefit 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 Standard challenging.

Five Reasons ERISA Disability Laws Favor Standard 

1. No jury trials are permitted;
2. No punitive damages;
3. Very limited discovery;
4. The Judge usually must apply a standard of review that defers to the insurance company’s conclusion that you are not disabled;
5. The Judge can remand the case back to Standard for any additional chance to review the claim and deny it again;

How Much Does Our Firm Charge to Handle a Standard Disability Lawsuit?

The proper preparation of a lawsuit against Standard 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 Standard.

We have been handling claims against Standard for over 30 years. We only handle Standard 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 Standard have resolved in a one-time lump sum settlement. We encourage you to review some of our Standard resolved case summaries to learn more about our experience. Most of our Standard disability lawsuit settlements have confidentiality provisions which limit our ability to discuss specific details about the cases.

Collecting Standard Disability Benefits Is A Reality

Through our 30+ years of experience suing Standard and our daily work on behalf of Standard disability claimants nationwide, we have seen and we are constantly aware of every claims handling technique used by Standard. 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 Standard. As a result of our years of battling Standard 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 Standard disability lawsuit.

We encourage you to contact any of our disability insurance lawyers to discuss some strategies for a possible resolution of your Standard 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 Standard. 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 Standard lawsuit. Any of our disability lawyers are available for an immediate free phone consultation to discuss your Standard claim denial.

What are the Top 10 Reasons for Standard Disability Denials?

1. Standard denied the claim based on objective medical evidence
2. Standard’s in-house doctor denied the disability claim
3. With no exam a third party medical company denied a Standard claim
4. With functional limitations Standard denied a disability claim because claimant has the ability to perform sedentary occupation
5. After a compulsory medical exam a doctor hired by Standard denied the disability claim
6. Standard denied the claim based on a vocational consultant evaluation of employability in another occupation
7. Standard ignored claimant’s treating doctor’s opinion of limited work restrictions and denied claim
8. Based on video surveillance Standard denied disability claim
9. My definition of disability changed from own occupation to any occupation and Standard denied my disability claim
10. Standard based your denial on a mental disability and not a physical disability and therefore limited your benefits to 24 months