Disability Benefits

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Valuable lessons in disability benefits adjudications

Disability insurance lawyers and claimants should be aware of a recently decided case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Garcia v. Colvin, 2013 U.S.App.LEXIS 25452 (7th Cir. December 20, 2013) was a recent opinion authored by Judge Richard Posner, who has gained a reputation for doing more than jurist since the […]

How lenient is the ERISA arbitrary and capricious standard of review in disability insurance cases?

From time to time we comment on court opinions relevant to disability insurance and ERISA litigation – Gerhardt v. Liberty Life Assur.Co. of Boston, 2013 U.S.App.LEXIS 23912 (8th Cir. November 29, 2013)(Issue: Independent Medical Examinations; Transferable skills analysis). Lisa Gerhardt, a nurse, applied for disability benefits from her employer’s group long-term disability insurance company in […]

Does ERISA Allow Depositions of Claim Adjusters in Disability Insurance Claims?

Despite the fact that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are intended to apply to all civil actions adjudicated in federal court, ERISA cases receive different treatment, especially cases that involve disability insurance benefits. In Charles v. UPS National Long Term Disability Plan, 2013 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 164218 (E.D.Pa. November 19, 2013), the court was called upon to decide whether to allow a deposition of the claim adjuster who denied benefits.

Is there a duty to investigate?

The question of whether an insurer has a duty to investigate the legitimacy of evidence submitted by a spurned intimate acquaintance was presented in the recently decided case of Truitt v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Amer., 2013 U.S.App.LEXIS 18639 (5th Cir. Sept. 6, 2013). The plaintiff, Terri Truitt, had worked as an attorney in […]

Federal court rejects remand request

Disability claims involving chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are difficult to assess because the symptoms are self-reported and cannot be objectively verified. However, in Schnoor v. Walgreen Income Protection Plan, 2013 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 114435 (W.D.Mich. Aug. 14, 2013), the court had no difficulty seeing through a deficient claim evaluation, despite the broad deference given to the […]

Court gives insurer another bite at the apple

Despite advances in medical science, many medical conditions such as tinnitus – a ringing or buzzing in the ears that afflicts millions of Americans – cannot be objectively diagnosed or verified. The case of Miles v. Principal Life Ins.Co., 2013 U.S.App.LEXIS 13065 (2nd Cir. June 26, 2013), which involved a partner in a major law […]