The scope and breadth of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s statutory preemption of state laws that relate to employee benefit plans[1] has confounded the courts since ERISA was enacted in 1974. In recent years, a battle front has emerged over the power of local governments to ensure universal health care for workers. The U.S. District […]
This country is suffering from a retirement crisis, unlike any other in its history. According to the Economic Policy Institute, nearly half of all American families have no retirement savings. For those that do, the savings are minimal. In 2016, the median retirement account balance for working-aged families was $7,800, while the median account balance […]
The civil rights movement made the abolition of all forms of discrimination a matter of public policy. Notwithstanding the tremendous strides that have been made to redress discrimination of all types, one group that continues to be subjected to long-standing stigmatization and social isolation are those who suffer from mental illness. The high watermark of […]
Mark D. DeBofsky is a name partner of DeBofsky Sherman Casciari Reynolds P.C. — on the web at debofsky.com. He handles civil and appellate litigation involving employee benefits, disability insurance and other insurance claims and coverage issues. He can be reached at [email protected] What is “objective” evidence? A recent ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit […]
Is exhaustion of administrative remedies in challenging Employee Retirement Income Security Act-governed benefit denials required as a precondition to filing a lawsuit? A concurring opinion in Wallace v. Oakwood Healthcare Inc.[1] by U.S. Circuit Judge Amul Thapar of the Sixth Circuit raises provocative questions about the administrative exhaustion doctrine in ERISA cases and suggests that other […]
The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted our lives, our livelihoods and the national economy. The response to the pandemic has in many respects brought out the best in all of us, but it has also led to widespread confusion about personal insurance benefits. Some issues have been resolved, while other issues are certain to arise, as […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has wrought a previously unfathomable level of casualties and economic disruption in the United States and worldwide in just a few short weeks. Since mid-March, 16.9 million Americans have filed jobless claims, and one out of every 10 U.S. workers who had employment prior to the pandemic is now jobless. Many people with […]
Since the publication in 1943 of James M. Cain’s noir classic, “Double Indemnity,” there has been a public fascination with accidental death insurance. Surprisingly, even when a sudden and unexpected death occurs other than as a result of a heart attack or other clear-cut medical condition, the issue of whether the death was accidental or […]
Mark D. DeBofsky is a name partner of DeBofsky Sherman Casciari Reynolds P.C. — on the web at debofsky.com. He handles civil and appellate litigation involving employee benefits, disability insurance and other insurance claims and coverage issues. He can be reached at [email protected] Causation is always a key issue in accidental death insurance claims as a recent […]
Litigating health benefit claim denials is extremely challenging for plaintiffs. Especially under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act — where many cases are decided under the arbitrary and capricious standard of review that upholds an insurance claim denial so long as the basis for the claim decision is viewed as reasonable by a court —overturning […]
Mark D. DeBofsky is a name partner of DeBofsky Sherman Casciari Reynolds P.C. He handles civil and appellate litigation involving employee benefits, disability insurance and other insurance claims and coverage, and Social Security law. He can be reached at [email protected] A recent decision issued by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals offers valuable insight […]
Purchasers of long term care insurance from MetLife who experienced a hike in premium rates may soon receive relief pursuant to a settlement agreement reached in the case Newman v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., No. 1:16-cv-03530 (N.D. Ill). The settlement follows a rare victory in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals for aggrieved long term […]