Author: Mark Debofsky

Returning to Work Post-Injury Doesn’t Invalidate Disability Claim

Does working after suffering an injury invalidate a subsequent disability insurance claim? According to a recent U.S. District Court ruling from Florida, the answer is no. In Kaviani v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., 2019 WL 1759245 (M.D. Fla., March 27, 2019), Kia Kaviani, a dentist, sustained neck injuries in a car accident in 2012. […]

What Is the Meaning of “Regular Occupation” in a Disability Insurance Policy?

Most people assume that if they become unable to perform their usual work on account of sickness or injury, that they would qualify to receive benefits under their work-sponsored long-term disability insurance coverage. That may not be the case, though. In Nichols v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., 2019 WL 2223614 (5th Cir. May 23, […]

Is Death Resulting From Autoerotic Asphyxiation a Self-Inflicted Injury?

Is death resulting from autoerotic asphyxiation gone wrong an accident or is coverage under an accidental death insurance policy precluded by the policy’s “self-inflicted injury” exclusion. A recent appellate court ruling overturned a lower court’s determination that the language of the exclusion is ambiguous and therefore had to be resolved in favor of the insured […]