Private Long Term Disability and Insurance Bad Faith | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Our client was a former family practice doctor disabled by chemical dependency, who also became blind in one eye after his disability started. Client’s submissions to the insurer did not address his blindness. We filed suit, and [...]
ERISA Long Term Disability | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia This was a fairly straightforward claim for disability benefits, but before the case settled it yielded a reported decision generally helpful to ERISA claimants in this jurisdiction. Over the insurer’s objection, Judge Thrash held that the insurer could be held liable [...]
ERISA Long Term Disability | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia This disability case involved a rare middle ear condition known as “endolymphatic hydrops,” a precursor to Meniere’s disease. This condition causes balance problems, nausea and sensitivity to pressure changes. The firm assisted in developing persuasive medical evidence, including additional testing for [...]
Life Insurance, Bad Faith This case involved the pre-suit settlement of several life insurance claims for $6,500,000.00, over 93% of the value of the policies. The Insurer wrote $7,000,000.00 in coverage on an 80 year old man with a history of bladder cancer, longstanding high blood pressure and a first degree atrioventricular block. The insured [...]
Accidental Death & Dismemberment, ERISA Man with 22 year work history as commercial airplane mechanic injured in explosion at work for Delta. His doctors felt he had a traumatic brain injury causing total, permanent disability. Prudential and Delta's workers compensation carrier relied on non-treating doctors who accused the client of exaggerating and malingering. We arranged [...]
RW overcomes Sedwick/Delta denial of benefits for Positional Orthostatic Tachycardia Background The claimant in this short-term disability case became disabled following a vacation to Dubai. While in Dubai, the claimant contracted a serious upper respiratory infection, thought to be viral in nature. As a consequence, he began suffering from severe fatigue and insomnia, as well [...]
Our client, a renowned and highly successful orthopedic surgeon who specialized in hip and knee-replacement surgery, took out a high-premium, high-coverage disability policy with Certain Underwriters of Lloyd’s. High-end disability policies are often referred to colloquially as “Cadillac” policies. In this case, it was more like a “Rolls-Royce” policy. The orthopedic surgeon paid very high [...]
Our client was an obstetrician/gynecologist (OBGYN) who became disabled following his fourth back surgery. Provident (later UnumProvident and now Unum), the insurance company, approved the doctor for disability benefits. Unum, however, described the OBGYN’s disabling condition as “degenerative disc disease,” which was a major problem. Ordinarily it is the existence of a disabling condition that [...]
In this interesting claim on an Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance policy, RW had the privilege of representing a widower who unexpectedly lost his wife due to an accident in the home. Shortly after midnight, our client’s wife walked into her kitchen to get a drink of water and a midnight snack. She walked into [...]
A significant advancement for those suffering from mounting student loan debts who can not work due to disabilities was made by the DOE last week. This is a big win for hundreds of thousands of people who cannot work due to significant disabilities. The U.S. Education Department announced Thursday that it is discharging the outstanding student loans [...]
