If your employee benefits are provided through your employer like most Americans. then ERISA governs your benefits. “ERISA” is a very complex, broad federal law that stands for the Employee Income Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. ERISA was enacted with a goal being to provide protection for employees. Unfortunately, since it was enacted, ERISA has evolved into a law that in the disability arena, provides few true benefits for employees while protecting and shielding employers and insurance companies from liability. Simply put, ERISA provides few, if any protection to you and your family.
ERISA requires that you receive a “full and fair” review – but there is nothing fair about ERISA. Many legal protections Americans count on do not apply in an ERISA case. For example, the court will usually apply discretionary review meaning the disability insurance company’s decision will be upheld unless it is “unreasonable;” there is no right to a jury trial; there is little, if any, ability to develop evidence once you file your lawsuit; there is limited discovery to learn about how the insurance company denied your claim; there is no bad faith or punitive damage claim; you are in federal and not state court where many view federal judges as being more conservative.
When a disability insurance company with a financial conflict of interest (making the decision and paying the benefits) is shielded from liability for bad decisions which are upheld if they are “reasonable,” you’ve entered an arena where brazen decisions that favor the insurance company occur daily while the evidence supporting your claim is ignored, selectively reviewed and rejected often with little explanation.
What do you do? Give up or fight? I have taken on and beat disability carriers everyday for the past 16 years with tremendous success. How? With an aggressive strategy, planning and a game plan from day one. By spending my money to develop critical evidence in your case that without it, you have little chance of winning. By knowing the disability company’s tricks and using ERISA to your advantage so its decision looks “unreasonable.”
You need to know that the disability insurance company is spending money and their experts’ time to deny your claim. By using in house medical professionals or by hiring outside so called “independent” doctors who are often repeatedly retained by the insurance company – without a skilled attorney and proven strategy, you have little chance to win.
Who is in your corner representing your interests? Taking on your disability carrier is like swimming in a swamp with an alligator at midnight. I have successfully represented hundreds of ERISA clients and recovered tens of millions of dollars in wrongfully denied benefits.
To learn how I can level the playing field and win your case, call me for a free consultation at anytime and you never pay a fee unless we win and you obtain disability.
To schedule a consultation to discuss your disability Insurance claim, please call (800)-588-1710.
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