The case of Dawna Lane v. Prudential Insurance Company is limited to a discussion by the Utah Federal District Court about whether or not Plaintiff’s ERISA lawsuit for long term disability benefits should be dismissed on the grounds of judicial estoppel. Although a reference is made to her suffering from “severe psychological conditions,” there is no discussion of her actual disability or conditions of employment.
Continue Reading Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s Disability Claim Against Prudential

Resolved Cases:
Assurant overturned its previous denial of long term disability benefits for Maine Sales Consultant
In July 2013 a number of medical issues, including the debilitating effects of chemotherapy treatment as well as recurrent breast cancer forced Ms. C to stop working and submit her claim for disability benefits first under her employer’s short-term disability (STD) policy and then continuing under its long-term disability (LTD) policy.

Disability Insurance News:
Lincoln Financial Denial of LTD benefits after paying for 9 Years is Reversed on Appeal
Disability insurance attorney Alex Palamara was able to win an ERISA appeal against Lincoln Financial on behalf of his client. In this video, Alex discusses the issues with case and the negligence of Lincoln Financial in failing to properly investigate a long term disability claim. Alex and attorney Gregory Dell provide some tips for how to possibly avoid a long term disability denial.

Resolved Cases:
Trinity Health Care Registered Nurse Wins Cigna Long Term Disability Appeal
Nurse suffering from terrible back conditions gets reapproved for Long Term Disability Benefits with Cigna after Attorney Alexander Palamara files an administrative appeal.

Resolved Cases:
LTD Claim Approved by Lincoln for Former Biomet, Inc. Employee suffering from Meniere’s Disease
Project Manager for Biomet, Inc. gets LTD Claim approved after Attorney Alexander Palamara appeals to Lincoln Financial.

Disability Insurance News:
California Court Reverses Sunlife Disability Denial for Woman with Fibromyalgia
In this video, disability insurance attorneys Rachel Alters and Gregory Dell discuss a California Federal Court decision in which a Sunlife disability insurance denial was reversed.

Disability Insurance News:
New Department of Labor Regulations for ERISA Disability Claims
The Department of Labor’s changes to regulations regarding ERISA Disability Claims take effect April 1, 2018.

Resolved Cases:
After appeal filed by Attorney Jay Symonds, Sun Life overturned its previous denial of long term disability benefits for Florida ICU Nurse
Disabled Nurse that was denied LTD benefits under Any Occupation definition by Sun Life is on claim after Dell & Schaefer Appeal.

Disability Insurance News:
Is the Hartford Disability Purchase of Aetna Bad for Aetna LTD Policy Holders?
In this video nationwide long term disability insurance attorneys Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup discuss what impact they believe this sale will have on Aetna long term disability policy holders.

Resolved Cases:
Disabled Vessel Captain for Marine Services Corporation Wins Long-term Disability Appeal With CIGNA
Congestive heart failure, peripheral artery disease, uncontrolled hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes type 2, bilateral lower extremity neuropathy and other health issues had taken their toll on Chance, causing him to file for disability through his employer’s long-term disability plan with CIGNA.

Resolved Cases:
Standard Overturns Decision to Deny Disabled Project Manager Long-term Disability Insurance Benefits After First Appeal
Standard Terminates Long-term Disability Claim After 24 Months Claiming that the Disability was Due, In Part, to a Mental Disorder.

Resolved Cases:

After appeal filed by Attorney Jay Symonds, Prudential overturned its previous denial of long term disability benefits for New York Financial Control Officer
Disabled Financial Control Officer that was denied LTD benefits by Prudential is on claim after Dell & Schaefer Appeal.

Resolved Cases:

After it had previously overturned a denial after an initial Dell & Schaefer Appeal, Liberty denied our client’s claim again. After a new appeal, Liberty has now agreed to reinstate our client yet again
After again denying Dell & Schaefer client after it had previously reinstated claim, Liberty once again Agrees that Client is disabled and reinstates LTD Benefits.

In this video, attorneys Victor Peña and Gregory Dell discuss the courts reversal of MetLife’s denial of long term disability benefits for a claimant with heart disease. Metlife attempted to rely on an ejection fraction rate reading as a basis to deny the claim.
Continue Reading California Court Finds MetLife Abused Their Discretion

In Vicki Young v. Sun Life and Health Insurance Company, plaintiff Young, a mortgage broker, was initially granted disability benefits in September 2010 based on her diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The initial two years of her disability were based on her inability to perform the essentially duties of her own occupation.

After two years, Sun Life continued her long term disability (LTD) benefits on the grounds that she did not have the ability to perform the job duties of any occupation for which she was qualified. Suddenly, in 2015, Sun Life terminated her benefits, stating she was no longer disabled under the “any occupation” standard. Young’s administrative appeal was denied and she filed this ERISA lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
Continue Reading Court Reinstates Disability Benefits Erroneously Terminated by Sun Life

Resolved Cases:
Standard Overturns Denial of Benefits to Shareholder of Major Law Firm
Victor Pena wins appeal for former shareholder of Carlton Fields suffering from migraines and vestibular disorder.

Disability Insurance News:
Social Security Approval Does Not Mean Disability Insurance Benefits Must be Approved
11th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds lower court’s finding that Aetna’s denial of benefits was not wrong.

Resolved Cases:
Attorneys Dell & Schaefer Appeal Team Lead by Attorney Cesar Gavidia Successfully Appeal CIGNA’s Denial of Benefits to Disabled Lockheed Martin Tech Manager With Traumatic Brain Injury
Team Led by Attorney Cesar Gavidia Appeal CIGNA’s Wrongful Termination of Benefits and Win.

Resolved Cases:
Hartford Reinstates Disability Benefits to HR Manager
Following an ERISA Appeal submitted by Dell & Schaefer, Hartford reinstates disability benefits to an HR Manager suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis.

FAQ: Disability Companies:
What Can I Expect When Seeking Long Term Disability Benefits from Northwestern Mutual?
Our disability insurance lawyers have helped hundreds of Northwestern Mutual long term disability insurance claimants to obtain long term disability benefits. Watch our video.

In Riley v. MetLife, a case decided in March 2014 in the United States Court of Appeal for the First Circuit, Plaintiff Riley first made a claim for LTD benefits in 2000 when he was employed as an associate general manager. He received LTD benefits, but returned to work in 2001 in a non-managerial position where he earned substantially less. In 2002, Riley left work once again and made another claim for LTD benefits. Riley’s LTD claim was eventually approved in 2005, and he received his first LTD benefit check in April of 2005 for an amount based on his non-managerial salary, which was substantially less than he would have received based on his managerial salary. Since Riley disputed the amount of his lower LTD benefits based on his non-managerial salary, he refused to cash the checks and threatened to file suit.
Continue Reading If You Are Aware of an Underpayment or Miscalculation of Your LTD Benefits Don’t Wait to Hire an Attorney because Your Time to File a Lawsuit May be Running Out