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Symetra Reinstates LTD Benefits for Former Vice President of Grady Management, Inc. who suffered from multiple Strokes

Prior to becoming disabled, our client had worked at Grady Management, Inc., a well-respected full service real estate firm in Maryland, since April of 1978. For 37+ years, our client worked for Grady and worked his way up to become the Vice President of Priority Engineering Services. Obviously his work at Grady was more than a job, it was his life. Unfortunately for our client, serious medical conditions interrupted his continued employment and he was forced to stop working in June of 2015.

What caused him to stop working was the fact that our client suffers from hypercoagulopathy disorder which is a disease that is characterized by an increased tendency of the blood to form clots. Other diagnoses include deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolisms and he has even suffered from multiple cerebrovascular accidents (strokes). These issues have left him suffering from short term memory loss and impaired cognitive functioning, among other issues.

After 37+ years, our client was forced to stop working. Fortunately, Grady Management provided its employees with coverage under a Long Term Disability Insurance policy and fortunately that policy was with Symetra Life Insurance Company. After leaving work and applying for benefits, Symetra initially approved his claim and in fact paid his claim for a little over two years. Unfortunately, continued benefits were denied by way of a denial letter dated November 1, 2017.

Symetra’s Denial Letter

Symetra’s Policy with Grady Management contained typical policy language that included what is known as the “change in definition of disability.” In this policy (like most group insurance policies with all insurance providers), in order to initially receive benefits a claimant must prove that he or she is prevented “from performing with reasonably continuity the material and substantial duties of your regular occupation…” However, after benefits are paid for 24 months, what it means to be disabled changes. After 24 months of benefits, the claimant then must prove that he/she is prevented “from performing with reasonable continuity the material and substantial duties of any gainful occupation.” As it is clearly tougher to prove that one cannot perform “any gainful occupation”, this is the time period when most insurance companies deny previously approved claims.

This situation was not unique. Armed with the new definition of disability and armed with the opinion of an “Independent Physician Consultant” who performed a review of the medical records, Symetra determined that as of November 1, 2017, the claimant was not disabled from any gainful occupation. Specifically, Symetra stated that he did “not have any restrictions or limitations and that (he had) a full work capacity.” Symetra even stated that there was “no objective physical impairment preventing you from performing any occupation.”

Knowing that Symetra’s conclusions were wrong and knowing that he had no ability to perform any gainful occupation, the claimant knew he needed assistance to fight this denial and he found Attorney Alexander Palamara of Dell Disability Lawyers.

Appeal by Attorney Palamara

After reviewing the denial letter, the claim file and all of the medical records, it was clear to Attorney Palamara that there was no way this honorable man who worked for 37+ years for the same company could possibly perform any gainful occupation. Attorney Palamara reached out to numerous treating physicians and each of them could not have been more supportive of the fact that their patient should be deemed completely disabled no matter what the definition of disability should be. Our appeal focused not only on the significant and overwhelming volume of objective evidence that showed each of his diagnoses and their accompanying symptoms and complications, our appeal also utilized the support of the treating physicians who wrote statements that said that our client “has had a history of mini strokes and multiple medical problems that affect his memory and cognition.” The treating doctors opined that “due to his cognitive impairment (our patient) is totally disabled.”

Claim Re-Approval

Thankfully, on the 90th day after the appeal was filed, Symetra reached out to our firm and notified us that our client’s claim was reapproved and that all retroactive benefits would paid as well as ongoing monthly benefits. While our client is happy to be back on claim and getting the benefits he deserves, he knows that the fight will continue. He also knows that Attorney Alexander Palamara will do whatever it takes to keep him on claim. If you have been denied disability benefits by Symetra or any other disability insurance company, please do not hesitate to contact Attorney Alexander Palamara at Dell & Schafer for a free consultation.

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MetLife

They FULL OF ****

Reviewed by KM on October 3rd 2024 Verified Policyholder | August 2024 date of disability

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Reviewed by GaKRN on August 22nd 2024 Verified Policyholder | June 2024 date of disability

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Reviewed by Scott C. on July 5th 2024 Verified Policyholder | March 2023 date of disability

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Ran me Around for Months

Reviewed by David on July 5th 2024 Verified Policyholder | January 2024 date of disability

Scammers. Immoral horrible people.

Reply

Sent on July 5th 2024 by Attorney Gregory Dell

David:

It’s horrible that Hartford did that to you.

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Denied but Not Denied but I am Denied

Reviewed by KDDK on July 5th 2024 Verified Policyholder | August 2022 date of disability

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Reviews from Our Clients

S.S.

I am a physician in my 30s who was practicing in my hospital based medical specialty until my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis began to severely limit my physical ability to work.

My husband and I were obviously in distress at these very unwanted life changes and frankly overwhelmed with the possibility of a long and traumatizing legal battle ahead of us. We knew we were legally entitled to benefits through the separate private individual and employer based ERISA disability insurance policies we had, but even cursory research and discussion with colleagues made it clear that insurance companies will strategize with their own legal teams to find ways to not pay out benefits. We found many before us who had fallen unwittingly into legal pitfalls that prevented them from ultimately obtaining benefits. We realized we needed to seek legal counseling.

We found Dell Disability Firm through their youtube channel where their associates have videos discussing the legal intricacies and latest developments in private disability law. I was impressed by their dedication to the field and reached out through their website to request a free consultation.

We were delighted to hear that Mr. Steven Dell himself would be willing to take our case and felt assured that we would be represented by the best of the best.

We have not been disappointed in our expectation and have, in fact, been consistently very impressed. Steven Dell is clearly both knowledgeable and wise about dealing with these issues but more importantly, has shown kindness and impeccable honesty at each step of the way.

Merlin has demonstrated a very high capacity for organizing and handling the endless myriad of documents and communications between us and the insurance companies. She has also been very compassionate, accessible and forthcoming in dealing with our many anxiety fueled emails and telephone calls to her and we are very grateful for her involvement.

For over 7 months, we have been working closely with Steven Dell and Merlin Bryan from Dell Disability Lawyers as they have guided us through the process of review and initial application for benefits from our two insurance policies (Hartford and Ameritas).

We are happy to announce we just received approval of claim from the Hartford insurance company.

At this time we are still working with this firm as we await the final decisions from Ameritas policy that we are hopeful will have a similar outcome.

As anyone with a chronic and progressive illness can tell you, time becomes a very precious commodity. Through their representation, Dell Disability Associates has allowed us to focus the majority of our time enjoying the time and function I have left while resting assured that our disability case laid in competent and caring hands.

The truth is that no amount of money can make up for what we have lost, but it is a huge comfort to have a team like Dell Disability Lawyers at our sides to help us ensure we will be able to continue to care for ourselves and our families.

We highly recommend Dell Disability Lawyers, Mr. Steven Dell and Ms. Merlin Bryan to handle your disability insurance claim.

Thank you Steven, thank you Merlin!

We will certainly plan on leaving another review for completeness once we have our final decision from Ameritas.

Paula B.

I have been working with Dell Disability Lawyers for the past 5 years concerning my disability as it pertained to my employer. I have been more than pleased with them the entire time. They have always kept me informed of any paperwork needing completed or any changes coming ahead. Nothing has been a surprise. I would recommend them to you to help with your disability case if you’re trying to dip into the policy you’ve been paying for.

Michael M.

I am a physician who has been disabled for over 10 years. During this time I have been represented by Cesar Gavidia and his assistant Danielle Lauria. Their representation on my behalf has allowed me to concentrate on dealing with my disability/disease process and all associated complications and not having to deal with all the things that are necessary in a disability claim. Based on my personal experience from many years of practicing medicine I would consider their work product, insight and effort in the disability claim procedures to be superior. I would recommnend them, which I have done, with my highest level of confidence. In short, you well served with this practice.

Dan P.

I had to retire from my career due to a bad back that restricted me from performing my duties. I had LTD insurance and after a few years of receiving monthly benefits from this insurance company, they notified me that my benefits were terminated stating that I don’t qualify due to my duties not fitting into some “national job description” and a nurse had deemed me eligible to go back to work. Its a crushing feeling to have this told to you over the phone with hardly any information given. Luckily, I came across Dell Disability Lawyers and spoke with Attorney Palamara who calmed me down and stated they would take my case. Within a couple of months my benefits were restored, and I had piece of mind. I cannot thank Attorney Palamara and the staff enough at Dell Disability for their professionalism, no nonsense approach, personal and timely communication and quick ability to litigate my case.

Jen S.

I wanted to thank Mr. Symonds and his legal assistant Sonia for their professionalism, guidance and dedication towards my LTD claim. Going through the denial process on my own was going to get me sicker and knew it was time for help right away. I reached out to Dell Disability Lawyers for assistance and not too long after my call, I was connected with Sonia – Soon after that, I was talking about my case with Mr. Symonds. After a long and tedious process with the LTD insurer, we won the case. The wait can absolutely be lengthy, but in the end, it was all very much worth the fight. Thank you both so much for all that you have done for me! I also want to thank those who assisted in keeping me updated, as needed. Highly recommended for anyone who is going through the brutal process of an LTD denial.

Carl G.

I would like to thank Dell Disability Lawyers for taking care of my case and help me get the insurance coverage that I was rightfully in need of. Specially, I would like to thank Lawyer Alexander Palamara and RIGHT-HAND legal assistant, Sonia Nogueira, who made this process less stressful. They answered all my questions and kept me informed every step of the way.

Don’t get me wrong. They never promised or told me that I was going to win my case, as no one can guarantee that for you. What they did do, was letting me know that they were working hard for me and to keep positive. Something that I recommend everyone to do is to subscribe to their YouTube channel. That will give you an idea on how they operate and why they (for most of their cases) win their cases.

Since I was awarded disability, I am still having surgeries and thanks to Dell Lawyers, I’ve been able to cover all those expenses.

Warm regards to everyone at Dell.

Clarisa B.

I’m so very Grateful and Thankful for the team at Dell. They worked tirelessly to get the best outcome for me. I’m so glad that I found them!!

Carole S.

Exceptional efficient and professional service from Jay Symonds and Sonia Nogueira. They were both so helpful and knowledgeable and navigated me through a very stressful and difficult situation with New York Life.

K. S.

Awesome team. Jay and his team, Sonia and Francesca, truly care. This team is very Professional and quick to respond. Jay always provided answers in detail to my questions. I strongly recommend Jay Symonds.

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