Submit A Strong Disability Insurance Appeal Package
If your long-term disability insurance benefits have been denied, then you will find some relief after speaking with our disability insurance attorneys. Our law firm’s goal is to get your disability benefits reinstated and paid until you decide that you can return to work. We win more than 75% of our disability benefit appeals and we have represented thousands of claimants with their ERISA governed disability benefit appeals and/or lawsuits since 1979. We would like to review your disability benefit denial letter and provide an immediate free phone consultation to discuss how we could help get your disability benefits paid. We look forward to discussing your long term disability appeal.
Why Is It Important to Submit a Great Appeal?
The insurance companies want you to draft and submit your own appeal, but it is nothing but a trap. The information submitted in an ERISA disability appeal is extremely important, as all of the documents submitted become part of what is known as the “administrative record”.
In the event that your ERISA appeal(s) are denied and a lawsuit is filed, the court in most cases will be limited to their review of the administrative record. This means that if you were to have surgery after a final appeal decision is made by the disability company, then the court cannot review or consider any information about the surgery if it was not presented during the appeal.
ERISA does not allow for a jury trial, therefore if a lawsuit is filed it will be decided by a Judge. A non-jury ERISA trial is usually a disadvantage for a claimant, because the Judge does not get to hear live testimony and the Judge is basically just reviewing documents in the administrative record.
When appealing a disability insurance denial it is essential that a claimant submits every piece of information in support of a claim for disability benefits that the claimant would want a Judge to consider. The submission of a great disability appeal is an art and our disability attorneys are highly skilled at knowing what needs to be in an appeal and helping claimants to obtain the information needed to have the best chance to win an LTD appeal.
In order to help you understand the disability insurance appeal process and how to appeal a long term disability denial, you should read more here: How To Win Your Disability Insurance Appeal.
How Do We Help?
In order to present our client’s appeal in a light most favorable to the insured, Dell Disability Lawyers work very closely with our clients and their treating physicians, to ensure that the appeals are submitted with an overwhelming amount of information and detail.
Every case is unique and we work with your doctors to prepare statements that are specific to your medical condition and occupation. We make sure that every possible piece of objective medical evidence is obtained and we often recommend additional medical testing that could help prove your eligibility for benefits. In many cases, Dell Disability Lawyers will retain a medical doctor or nurse to review all of our client’s medical records and make recommendations regarding additional evidence that would strengthen our client’s claim.
The insurance companies often hire their own doctors to either review your records or examine you. We work very closely with your doctors and our nationwide medical experts to rebut the reports created by these insurance company hired gun medical doctors. In most disability appeals, Dell Disability Lawyers will retain a vocational expert in order to determine what vocational skills a claimant can perform in light of the claimant’s medical restrictions and limitations.
The vocational expert will also perform a labor market study in order to determine the availability of specific jobs in a particular market. We spend a great deal of time explaining the occupational requirements of a claimant’s occupation in order to make the insurance company understand why a claimant cannot work. We have access to all available medical research and we often rely on medical studies as further support for a client’s restrictions and limitations.
The drafting of personal statements and statements from co-workers, family members and friends can be an important piece of an appeal we submit for you. In certain appeals we will submit a custom video to further explain the difficulties you are experiencing. We exhaust every option in order to submit the best possible appeal for you. We think outside the box and when we finally submit an appeal it is hard for the insurance company to disagree with us.
What Are The Important ERISA Timeframes?
ERISA provides extremely strict guidelines and deadlines for disabled claimants seeking disability insurance benefits under their group policies. If sufficient information is not submitted within these timelines, a claimant may be forever barred from introducing the documentation to prove their disability. The disability insurance company is required to give a claimant 180 days from the date of initial denial to submit a first appeal.
While 180 days seems like a long time to prepare a disability appeal, most of this time is required to submit an appropriate appeal. The appeal process is long because it often takes time to receive all of the claimant’s medical records, obtain new medical support and review the entire claim file provided by the disability insurance company.
Once an appeal is submitted, the disability insurance company has 45 days to respond to a claimant’s appeal. However, the insurance company may request an extension for good cause. Dell Disability Lawyers understand the importance of trying to obtain benefits for our clients in an expedient and efficient manner.
Frustrating as it may seem, the disability carrier will not tell you what is necessary to perfect your claim. Moreover, group disability income policies are drafted with ambiguous and confusing contractual terms. These ambiguities provide insurance companies with multiple reasons for delaying and denying disability income benefits. Furthermore, most policies provide the insurance company with full discretion in deciding whether sufficient information has been provided by claimants prior to approving a claim.
Given the complexity of the legal issues involved and the tendency of insurance companies to vigorously defend claim denials, evaluation of any potential legal claim on behalf of an insured should be handled by a law firm experienced in ERISA disability insurance claims.
Our long-term disability appeal attorneys are available to provide you with a free consultation and review of your long term disability policy. Please keep in mind that there are time deadlines with ERISA disability claims and we must have sufficient time to evaluate your claim and take the appropriate legal actions on your behalf.







The ERISA Facts
If your ERISA governed long-term disability claim has been denied following your initial application for disability benefits, ERISA regulations require the insurance company to establish and maintain a procedure by which a claimant shall have a reasonable opportunity to appeal an adverse benefit determination to an appropriate named fiduciary of the plan, and under which there will be a full and fair review of the claim and the adverse benefit determination.
This means that your ERISA disability appeal must be reviewed by a person different than the original person that denied the claim.
The idea is that a claimant is supposed to receive a full and fair review by the insurance company when an appeal is filed. Many people want to sue their insurance company and not bother with an appeal, but the law requires at least one appeal be filed and possibly two depending on your disability policy language.
ERISA Sucks
The challenge is that The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a horrible nationwide federal law that gives disability insurance companies an unfair advantage over disability insurance claimants.
If you obtained either your short or long-term disability insurance coverage as employee benefit through your employer then your disability claim will be governed by the ERISA. The ERISA regulations for disability claims were modified in 2018, but these changes have only made it more difficult for claimants to win appeals and prevail in litigation.
The Insurance Companies
Our lawyers know the claim handling techniques of every disability insurance company and we are highly skilled at defeating them at their own game. Through our personal experience we have created and constantly maintain the most extensive resource on the internet for information about every disability insurance company.
We want you to learn as much as possible about your disability company, review our resolved cases against your insurance company and our experience in helping people with a situation similar to yours.
Resources to Help You Win Disability Benefits
Submit a Strong Appeal Package
We work with you, your doctors, and other experts to submit a very strong appeal.
Sue Your Disability Insurance Company
We have filed thousands of disability denial lawsuits in federal Courts nationwide.
Get Your Disability Application Approved
Prevent a Disability Benefit Denial
Negotiate a Lump-Sum Settlement
Our goal is to negotiate the highest possible buyout of your long-term disability policy.
Unum is evil
Every month I get paid on a different date
They will do anything to not approve your claim
Reply
Don't trust them, they like to play games
Lyme Disease Disability Claim Denial
Disappointed with NY Life Disability Excuses
New York Life is a joke!
They FULL OF ****
Q: 63 year old RN
Q: How do I get my Dr. to give Voya more info backing his claim?
Q: Do I have an option after my appeal is denied?
Q: My employer terminated me 11/14/23 while my LTD claim is being appealed by the Hartford. Does my appeals process get terminated as well?
Q: Denied short term disability and need to file for long term with same insurer
Q: Sedgwick denied my STD appeal, is there anything I can do to get my money back?
Q: How can I mount a successful appeal to a denial of coverage under my employer's Insurance carriers EOI review for Long Term Disability. Or is it a losing battle?
Q: Can I ask for another appeal?
How to Appeal a Long Term Disability Benefit Denial in 7 Steps
Do You Know What Is Needed To File An ERISA Appeal?
Can I Hire A Disability Lawyer to Help with my ERISA Appeal?
How Much Time Does Prudential Have to Make A Determination On an ERISA Disability Appeal?
Can a Disability Claimant Refuse to Attend an IME During an Appeal?
What can I do when the insurer fails to make a decision on my appeal within the required timeframe?
Does my insurance company have to consider my SSDI award if I received the award after my ERISA appeal was denied?
What are the important steps to take when filing an ERISA disability denial appeal?
Seven Surgeries and The Standard Still Denies Disability Insurance Benefits
Sun Life Wrongfully Denies Disability After Paying For 23 Months
Nurse Denied Long-term Disability Benefits by Lincoln After the Definition of Disability Changed
Lincoln Reverses Decision to Terminate LTD Benefits of Corporate Attorney after Dell Disability Lawyers Appeals the Decision
Transportation Manager with Brain Injury Wins Unum Disability Benefit Appeal
Prudential reverses decision to terminate LTD benefits of MRI Tech with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis and degenerative Disc Disease
Engineer With Depression Wins Prudential LTD Appeal
New York Life Approves Disability Benefits for School Teacher With Multiple Sclerosis
Reviews from Our Clients







5 Ways We Help Get Your Benefits Paid
Our goal is to get your application for disability insurance benefits approved. Applying for disability insurance benefits can be a difficult process and the information you provide is critical. Most disability insurance companies look at your application in hopes of finding a reason to deny your claim. Your disability company will ask you to complete numerous forms, interview you, request lots of information, speak with your doctors and possibly request to have you examined by their hired gun doctor.
Through our experience of having helped thousands of disability insurance claimants, our disability insurance lawyers will guide you through the entire application process and give you the best chance to get your disability claim approved the first time.
If your disability insurance benefits have been wrongfully denied, then our disability insurance lawyers know exactly what it takes to get your disability claim approved. You only get once chance to submit an Appeal, therefore every piece of evidence that will support your disability claim must be included. The goal is to win your disability benefits at the Appeal level, but while preparing your Appeal you must consider how a federal judge will review your disability claim if your benefit denial is upheld.
Preparing a strong disability appeal package is an art that requires you to understand how the courts interpret your disability policy language, ERISA regulations / laws, and how to strategically present evidence in support of your definition of disability. We encourage you to contact any of our long-term disability attorneys for a free immediate review of your disability denial.
98% of the disability insurance lawsuits filed by our law firm have resulted in either the payment of benefits or a lump-sum settlement agreement. Our disability insurance attorneys have filed ERISA governed and private policy long term disability insurance lawsuits against every major disability insurance company in state and federal courts nationwide and we love fighting for the little guy against the multi-billion dollar insurance company giants.
We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients and we would like the opportunity to provide you with a free review of your disability benefit denial. There are many complex factors in a disability benefit lawsuit and the legal battle to win long term disability benefits can be fierce.
Approval of long-term disability is a continuous process as every disability insurance company will evaluate your eligibility for benefits on a monthly basis. You can never let your guard down and assume that your disability company will continue to pay your benefits for as long as you think you need them.
Our disability insurance law firm offers a reasonable flat fee monthly claim handling service in which we handle every aspect of your long-term disability claim and do whatever it takes to make sure you are paid every month.
Let's discuss if a lump-sum settlement or buyout of your disability insurance claim is both available and makes financial sense for you. Our disability insurance lawyers have negotiated more than five-hundred million dollars in disability insurance buyouts and we know how to get you a maximum settlement. A disability insurance company is not required to offer a buyout and not every disability company offers them.
Questions About Hiring Us
We are disability insurance attorneys that know how to get your short or long term disability benefits paid. As a nationwide law firm we have helped thousands of disability insurance claimants throughout the United States to collect hundreds of millions of dollars of disability insurance benefits from every major disability insurance company.
Our attorneys have been able to either get our clients paid monthly disability benefits or obtain a one-time lump-sum settlement in more than 98% of our cases. Our disability insurance lawyers have seen it all when it comes to disability insurance claims and we know exactly what it takes for your disability claim to be approved.
We offer disability insurance attorney representation nationwide and we welcome you to contact any of our LTD lawyers for a free immediate review of your disability claim. We also invite you to visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we have more than 900 videos and regularly provide tips to help protect your disability benefits.
Our disability insurance attorneys help individuals that have either purchased a long term disability insurance policy from an insurance company or obtained short or long term disability insurance coverage as a benefit from their employer. We have helped individuals in almost every type of occupation with monthly disability benefit payments ranging from $1,500 to $50,000.
Our clients include all types of employees ranging from retail associates, sales representatives, government employees, police officers, teachers, janitors, nurses, pilots, truck drivers, financial advisors, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, consultants, IT professionals, engineers, professional athletes, business owners, and high level executives.
A strong understanding and presentation of the duties of your occupation is essential for securing disability insurance benefits.
Yes. We are a national disability insurance law firm that is available to represent you regardless of where you live in the United States. We have partner lawyers in every state and we have filed lawsuits in most federal courts nationwide. Our disability insurance lawyers represent disability claimants at all stages of a claim for disability insurance benefits. There is nothing that our lawyers have not seen in the disability insurance world.
Since we represent disability insurance claimants at different stages of a disability insurance claim we offer a variety of different fee options. We understand that claimants living on disability insurance benefits have a limited source of income; therefore we always try to work with the claimant to make our attorney fees as affordable as possible.
The three available fee options are a contingency fee agreement (no attorney fee or cost unless we make a recovery), hourly fee or fixed flat rate.
In every case we provide each client with a written fee agreement detailing the terms and conditions. We always offer a free initial phone consultation and we appreciate the opportunity to work with you in obtaining payment of your disability insurance benefits.
No. For purposes of efficiency and to reduce expenses for our clients we have found that 99% of our clients prefer to communicate via phone, email, fax, or video conferencing sessions. If you prefer an initial in-person meeting please let us know. A disability company will never require you to come to their office and similarly we are set up so that we handle your entire claim without the need for you to come to our office.
When you call us during normal business hours you will immediately speak with a disability insurance attorney. We can be reached at 800-698-9159 or by email. Lawyers and staff must return all client calls same day. Client emails are usually replied to within the same business day and seem to be the preferred and most efficient method of communication for most clients.
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