Texas claimant takes Reliastar to task for denied disability benefits
Suffering from multiple medical conditions and unable to function in a daily job, a health care professional and her Texas disability lawyer filed a lawsuit against Reliastar Life Insurance Company to force the insurer to pay disability benefits as contracted in an employee welfare benefit plan.
Cynthia O., a “RN Bariatric Clinical Coordinator,” stopped working on January 29, 2009 due to “fibromyositis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, agoraphobia and panic disorder.” In addition, the medications that Cynthia was prescribed to cope with the symptoms of her maladies cause cognitive functioning problems and sedation effects.
Claimant and her disability lawyer file lawsuit per ERISA
Fully qualifying as a totally disabled per the terms of her employee benefits disability plan, Cynthia should be receiving her entitled disability benefits from Reliastar, but has been denied her benefits. According to the complaint that Cynthia’s lawyer filed on August 25, 2011 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Houston Division, the insurer violated Cynthia’s disability plan provisions and ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) by denying Cynthia her rightly deserved disability benefits.
Basis of disability benefits case
In the complaint Cynthia’s disability lawyer notes that Reliastar has wrongfully denied Cynthia her disability benefits because:
- Cynthia is totally disabled and cannot perform her job duties;
- The insurer failed to “afford proper weight to the evidence in the administrative record showing that [Cynthia] is totally disabled;
- Reliastar did not apply the definition of disability as laid out in the plan that Cynthia was a beneficiary of;
- Reliastar’s denial of Cynthia’s disability claim is “unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious”; and
- Reliastar’s has “violated its contractual obligation to furnish disability benefits to” Cynthia.
Background of Reliastar claimant’s pursuit of disability benefits
Cynthia is 57 years old and was previously employed by St. Joseph Health System. Due to degenerative and traumatic injuries, Cynthia ceased working at St. Joseph as a RN Bariatric Clinical Coordinator on January 29, 2009, filed a claim for short term disability benefits with Reliastar and was denied disability benefits. Cynthia was further denied long term disability benefits from the insurance provider and after using all her administrative remedies, providing ample medical records that verify her disabled condition as well as evidence of her Social Security Administration favorable disability decision, Cynthia was forced to engage a disability attorney to take her case to a Texas District Court.
Claimant’s demands of Reliastar
In their complaint Cynthia and her lawyer accuse the insurer of wrongfully denying Cynthia her disability benefits in spite of medical evidence proving her disabled condition and ask the District Court to:
- Grant Cynthia declaratory relief by finding declaring that she is entitled to injunctive relief in the form of short term and long term disability benefits from Reliastar;
- Order the insurer to reimburse Cynthia for attorney’s fees while pursuing her lawsuit; and
- Award Cynthia “such other relief as may be just and appropriate.”
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Who are Dell Disability Lawyers?
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.
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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.
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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.
What are your fees?
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.
Do I have to come to your office to work with your law firm?
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.
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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.