Personal injury lawyers are frequently faced with lien claims against their clients’ recoveries brought by health insurers, union welfare funds, and other health benefit plans. Those plans fall within ERISA’s scope as “welfare plans” which are defined […]
What is an accident? When it comes to accidental death insurance, that question is often difficult to answer. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit offered its thoughts on the question in Wolf v. Life Insurance Co. of North America […]
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is a severe chronic pain syndrome that can occur after an injury, illness, or surgery. Even a minor injury can result in complex regional pain syndrome CRPS/RSD; and its persistence and manifestation can often be significantly worse than the original injury and appear […]
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is a severe chronic pain syndrome that can occur after an injury, illness, or surgery. Even a minor injury can result in complex regional pain syndrome CRPS/RSD; and its persistence and manifestation can often be significantly worse than the original injury and appear […]
An interpleader is a civil action filed by a “stakeholder,” often a life insurance company, that is facing competing claims over benefits that are due. To avoid the risk of having to pay twice, the stakeholder can initiate an interpleader lawsuit against the competing claimants in order for the rightful claimant to establish their entitlement […]
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, is a complex federal statute that applies to nearly all employee benefit plans, subject to a few narrow exceptions. Combining aspects of contract law, trust law, administrative law, and common law, ERISA is famously complex, earning it the moniker: “Everything Ridiculous Imagined Since Adam […]
Despite the admonition in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that there is only one form of civil action and that the rules apply to all civil actions,[1] Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation is mostly conducted in a unique manner that dramatically departs from ordinary federal civil procedure. […]
Despite the admonition in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that there is only one form of civil action and that the rules apply to all civil actions,[1] Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation is mostly conducted in a unique manner that dramatically departs from ordinary federal civil procedure. […]
A federal judge from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued in June a stinging indictment of the disability benefit plan that covers both active and former football players who become permanently and totally disabled due to injuries sustained during their professional football playing careers. […]
Fibromyalgia is a common yet often misunderstood medical condition that affects approximately four million Americans. Fibromyalgia can be particularly complex within the context of disability benefits. If you are unable to work due to fibromyalgia symptoms […]
Few doctors relish the task of completing disability paperwork. After a long day of treating patients, what physician wants to sit down and respond to a confusing questionnaire or a cryptic report? Worse yet is when the doctor’s words are misrepresented or taken out of context by the insurance company […]
Do claimants for Employee Retirement Income Security Act-governed disability benefits have to fully exhaust claim appeals before filing suit? […]