Disability Insurance Attorneys Gregory Michael Dell and Rachel Alters of Dell and Schaefer have filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston "Liberty Mutual" for failure to pay long-term disability benefits owed to a disability claimant in violation of The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The Plaintiff suffers from Fibromyalgia Syndrome which causes her unrelenting pain in her arms, legs, wrists, neck, shoulders and feet. Additionally, she suffers from severe fatigue and cognitive impairment as a result of her Fibromyalgia Syndrome. All of which prevents her from being able to perform the material and substantial duties of her occupation as a Benefits Coordinator, for Bridgestone Americas, Inc., an occupation that requires her to sit at a desk and type on a computer 6-8 hours a day.

The Plaintiff’s treating physicians all concur that she is disabled and unable to work due to severe pain, fatigue and cognitive impairment. She underwent a functional capacity examination which revealed that she was only able to sit or stand for a maximum of 2-4 hours in an 8 hour day. Her pain was so severe on the first day of testing she was unable to complete the exam. A neuropsychological examination revealed that she was impaired in her high order thinking which was likely due to her fibromyalgia syndrome.

Liberty failed to provide a "full and fair review" of the Plaintiff’s claim in violation of ERISA. Liberty ignored her treating physicians’ opinions, with whom she has treated with for over 15 years, who opined that she was clearly disabled and unable to work. Liberty disregarded the neuropsychological test results as well as the functional capacity exam results. Instead Liberty determined that the Plaintiff was not disabled, could work 40 hours a week in her regular occupation and should not limit her activity when she is in severe pain, but should be as active as possible in order to prevent her joints from stiffening. According to Liberty and the physician they paid to review our client’s medical records, working 40 hours a week would actually be beneficial to her condition. Liberty provided these opinions without ever examining the Plaintiff. They based their denial solely on a paper review of her medical records ignoring the medical opinions given by her treating physicians that she should not and could not work.

In our opinion, Liberty has really bent over backwards to wrongfully deny this claim. It is shocking that Liberty has relied on the opinion of a doctor that says 40 hours of work each week will make our client recover from her 15 years of suffering from fibromyalgia.

About the author: Gregory Michael Dell is an attorney and managing partner of the disability income division of Attorneys Dell & Schaefer. Mr. Dell and his team of lawyers have assisted thousands of long-term disability claimants with their claims against every major disability insurance company. To request a free legal consultation call 800-411-9085.

Our client was an OB/GYN with 18 years of experience who was suffering from Sensory motor and Peripheral Neuropathy; disc degeneration and herniations of the lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine, with associated radiculopathy; osteoarthritis / degenerative joint disease; and the loss of vision in his left eye. He attempted to continue to work through the constant pain he was experiencing, but was eventually forced to cease working and file for disability insurance benefits under his privately disability policy with MetLife.

→ Continue reading MetLife approves disability insurance benefits for OB/GYN suffering from multiple orthopedic conditions

In a recent long-term disability case against The Standard Insurance Company the court granted specific discovery request in order to further explore The Standard’s potential conflict of interest. The Standard objected to all questions that the claimant’s disability attorney had asked with regard to The Standard’s potential bias and conflict of interest. Prior to granting the disability claimant’s specific interrogatories sent to The Standard, the federal judge noted previous information which showed a bias in the working relationship between the Standard and the physicians that they hired to review long-term disability claims.

→ Continue reading The Standard Disability Insurance Company paid one doctor $577,000 to review 1,939 files over 2 years

Our client was a former United States postal worker who became disabled due to a back injury he sustained in an automobile accident in 2003. Several years before the accident, he purchased a disability insurance policy offered by his credit card company, which provided a lump sum payment in the amount of one million dollars if he became permanently disabled. The disability insurance policy was administered and funded by Federal Insurance Company. Following the accident he was in and out of work for approximately ten months. Upon returning to work he aggravated his back, and was forced to miss additional work. Despite his best attempts to return to work he was ultimately forced to cease working in October of 2004. At that time he filed for Social Security disability benefits, which were ultimately awarded in June of 2005.

→ Continue reading Federal Insurance Company and former postal worker reach confidential settlement regarding lump-sum disability policy

Our client, a financial currency trader, purchased a long term disability policy from Unum more than 10 years before she was forced to file a claim. Our client was a successful currency trader with a history of depression and bouts of severe fatigue, who, due to her conditions stopped working in January of 2008. For over 18 months she was unable to get out of bed most days, let alone remember or consider the disability insurance policy she had purchased many years before.

In August of 2009, with the assistance of her family, she filed a claim for long term disability income benefits under her Unum policy based on her depression and chronic fatigue. Unum immediately informed her of the notice of claim and proof of loss provisions in her policy, which establish the deadlines for the filing of information. Additionally, they began to request numerous documents of her, many of which were no longer available, as her former employer was no longer in business.

Overwhelmed by the situation and facing financial hardships they contacted Dell and Schaefer at the end of November 2009, to take over the handling of the claim.

→ Continue reading Unum issues disability insurance benefits to currency trader suffering from depression and chronic fatigue

Our client, an OB/GYN purchased long term disability insurance policies from Berkshire and Liberty Mutual in hopes that he would never need to file a disability claim. He began experiencing a slight tremor in his left hand in 2006. At that time he sought treatment to determine the origin of the tremor and his options for treatment. It was initially determined that the tremor was minimal and was not impacting his ability to practice as an OB/GYN.

→ Continue reading Berkshire and Liberty Mutual approve benefits to OB/GYN suffering from essential tremor

When Nancy Perryman stopped working, she was the Western Farm Bureau Insurance Company’s agency manager for metropolitan Phoenix and Northern Arizona. It was a complex job, in which she supervised between 18 and 21 insurance agents at Western Farm Bureau’s various insurance offices. She’s earned around $300,000 each year in commissions, with average monthly earnings of almost $19,000 for the two years before she stopped working.

→ Continue reading Arizona Court rules Provident wrongfully terminated disability benefits to insurance manager with CFS (Part II)

Unum Provident Reviews Approved Benefits to Assure Continuing Qualification

When Nancy Perryman stopped working on February 28, 1997 she was the Western Farm Bureau Insurance Company’s agency manager for metropolitan Phoenix and Northern Arizona. She supervised between 18 and 21 insurance agents who worked out of Western Farm Bureau’s various insurance offices. She’s earned around $300,000 each year in commissions, with average monthly earnings of almost $19,000 for the two years before she stopped working.

→ Continue reading Unum Provident terminates disability benefits to woman with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) (Part I)

Rosemary McGahey’s long-term disability attorney did an excellent job of representing her in U.S. District Court’s Massachusetts district in December of 2009. McGahey’s disability attorney carefully demonstrated that the administrators of the Harvard University Flexible Benefits Plan had wrongfully terminated McGahey’s long-term disability benefits. As part of the court’s decision to award McGahey compensation for the expense of pursuing her claim in court, her disability attorney was given instructions to put together the appropriate documentation to demonstrate what the attorney fee award should be.

→ Continue reading Harvard University ordered to pay $53,817.50 in attorney fees to disability insurance claimant

If Judge Michael J. Reagan is beginning to tire of considering the case between Lisa Pakovich and her former employer’s long-term disability plan, he may have good reason to. He has had to listen to arguments from both Pakovich’s long-term disability attorneys and the Verizon Long-Term Disability Plan (Plan) attorneys at least four times in less than a year. He’s not the first judge to consider Pakovich’s claim. Pakovich v. Broadspire Services, Inc., 535 F. 3d has been cited in a number of Seventh Circuit decisions.

On March 24, 2010, Judge Reagan entered his ruling granting Pakovich’s motion for summary judgment. In response, Packovich’s disability attorneys filed a motion for attorney’s fees. Judge Reagan considered the motion to collect these fees on April 22, 2010. In his decision, he first breaks down the legal standard that guided his decision. Then he compares Pakovich’s motion against that standard.

→ Continue reading Broadspire ordered to pay disability insurance benefits but not attorney fees