Over the course of your working career, statistically, you may become disabled at some point before you retire. It is better to be prepared for this possibility rather than face financial ruin if your income evaporates. Recently in the New York Daily News article, the Social Security Administration states that…
Each of us knows at least one person who suffers from migraines which often can be managed with medication. For those of you who do not know what it is like to experience a migraine, it is difficult to describe. In a New York Times article titled Migraine Miseries Push…
New Jersey joins Pennsylvania as a state in the Third Circuit and benefits when a PA case is successful before the Third Circuit. A case in point is Kosiba v. Merck & Co. which found that Unum acted arbitrarily and capriciously in denying benefits to a claimant suffering from fibromyalgia…
We often are retained once a claim has been denied. All too often, the denial is based on a breakdown in communication between the patient’s doctors and the administrator evaluating the claim because the nature and extent of a patient’s disability is not communicated clearly by the claimant’s treating physicians…
Many of our clients suffer from Chronic fatigue syndrome. Several years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued some protocols for establishing that a patient has the condition. Nevertheless insurance companies regularly deny disability claims based on CFS, often using the excuse that there is “no objective evidence”…
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports that “loopholes in a federal law intended to protect worker benefits” make it easy for insurers to make erroneous arguments with near impunity. On March 11, 2010, “Death of a loved one can be beginning of hard fight with life insurer”provided…
A Congressional investigation released last month found that the four largest U.S. for-profit health insurers denied policies to one in every seven applicants based on prior medical history. The Wall Street Journal reported the companies – Aetna, Inc., Humana, Inc., UnitedHealth Group, Inc., and WellPoint, Inc. – denied coverage to…
When a disabled employee is denied benefits by an insurance company, Federal Regulations, ERISA law requires that they submit a “mandatory” appeal of that denial to the insurance company. The insurance company will typically review the appeal and decide whether to reverse or uphold their decision. Only after the appeal…
Disabled consumers filing bankruptcy face a dilemma; they need to continue to receive their disability benefits, but are legally obligated to disclose all “assets” on the bankruptcy petition. Consumers should note that by acknowledging this asset to the Bankruptcy court, the trustee in bankruptcy may be able to preserve this…
On September 28, 2010 the United States Senate Finance Committee held a full committee hearing titled, “Do Private Long-Term Disability Policies Provide the Protection They Promise?” The Hearing featured testimony from Chicago-based attorney Mark DeBofsky, a disability law expert, as well as The Honorable William M. Acker, Jr., Senior United…