Disability Insurance and ERISA
Disability Insurance is sold with the promise of payment when you become disabled. Insurance companies do not make money by paying claims, however. Unfortunately, there are few if any penalties for wrongfully denying disability claims. The result: insurance companies have become very aggressive about denying disability insurance claims.
If your disability claim has been denied and you are considering a lawsuit against your disability insurance company, you need someone experienced in disability insurance law. Disability insurance law is not for the novice. Disability insurance is governed by a different set of laws depending on whether the disability insurance was purchased by you personally or by your employer as one of your employee benefits. If your employer purchased your disability coverage, your claim will be governed by a set of federal laws known as ERISA.
There are many legal traps for the unwary including: a claim’s appeal must be submitted before a lawsuit may be filed in court and the claim’s file must contain all the evidence you want the judge to consider.
A judge will decide your case, but it is often not enough for the judge to merely believe your disability claim is meritorious; a higher standard applies. The judge will often not review the claim to determine how he or she would have decided it. Rather, the judge will decide whether the insured acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner.
The strategy for litigating disability insurance claims is different from other lawsuits. The lawyer who litigates divorces, criminal law, and other areas unrelated to ERISA is often not your best choice to handle your disability insurance claim.
At Goren, Goren & Harris, we have years of experience handling disability insurance claims. Moreover, we work on a one-third contingency fee basis. We do not get paid unless you get paid.
For more information, please call us at: (248) 540-3100, Ext. 3008, or fill out the form to the right. We accept cases throughout Michigan and Ohio.