Category Archives: Disability insurance
"Dismemberment by Severance" v. Loss of Use: A Smorgasbord of Interesting Disability Cases
Fier v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America, 629 F.3d 1095 (9th Cir. 2011)
Facts and holding: In 1992, Robert Fier (“Fier”) was shot in the neck and rendered permanently quadriplegic. He filed a claim for benefits with Unum Life Insurance C…
A Smorgasbord of Interesting Disablity Cases: Accidental Bodily Injury
Boly v. The Paul Revere Life Ins. Co., 238 Ore. App. 702 (2010)
Facts and holding: In the late 1980s, Jeffrey Boly (“Boly”) was diagnosed with sleep apnea and narcolepsy. With treatment, doctors were able to stabilize Boly’s nighttim…
A Smorgasbord of Interesting Disablity Cases: Accident v. Sickness
Kerns v. The Northwestern Mutual Life Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126769 (E.D. Cal. 2010)
Facts and holding: Gary Kerns (“Kerns”) owned two disability policies with The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (“Northweste…
A Smorgasbord of Interesting Disablity Cases: Abuse of Discretion / Objective Evidence of Disability
Hagerty v. American Airlines Long Term Disability Plan, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91995 (N.D. Cal. 2010)
Facts and holding: On November 15, 2004, Brian Hagerty (“Hagerty”), a flight attendant, filed a claim for long term disability benefi…
Dearborn National is watching Disability Insurance Attorneys Dell & Schaefer
Dearborn National, a multi-billion dollar insurance company that sells long term disability insurance products, recently hired a law firm to prohibit Disability Insurance Attorneys Dell & Schaefer from displaying the Dearborn National on a webpage …
Why does Mass Mutual want to hide its disability insurance claim forms?
Mass Mutual, an insurance company that sells long term disability insurance products, recently hired the international law firm of Shutts & Bowen in an effort to prohibit Disability Insurance Attorneys Dell & Schaefer from displaying blank Mass…
Standard Raises Objections to Discovery into Whether It Had a Conflict of Interest
Ms. Kathleen M. Hackett brought suit in the U.S. District Court of South Dakota’s Western Division against Standard Insurance Company (Standard), alleging that Standard had wrongfully denied her long-term disability benefits claim. In the first r…
What do I do if Disability Insurance Denies My Claim?
You are much more likely to become disabled during your work life than to die during your work life. Thus, disability insurance is very important to protect you and your family from financial ruin in the event of a disability. But, what happens when you insurance company denies your disability claim? Short-term disability (STD) policies [...]
What to do if Your Disability Insurance Carrier Terminates Your Disability Benefits?
You buy short term disability and long term disability insurance in order to protect yourself and your family. In many cases, the insurance company denies the disability claim from the beginning. Other times, the disability insurer approves a claim only to terminate benefits later. As a lawyer for the disabled, I help people with claims that [...]
Winning long term disability insurance claim is no guarantee of attorney fees
After successfully winning her claim against Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston (Liberty Life) at both district and appeals court levels, Theresa Willcox’s disability attorney sought compensation for the attorney’s fees charged Willco…
