Did you know COVID-19 brought as many as 1.2 million additional disability claims in 2021? If you suffer from long-haul COVID, you may have been struggling with your insurance company or considering filing for disability benefits. Insurance companies are working to develop policies they expect will be effective through at least the end of 2022, [...]
Dentists are required to be on their feet for hours, often in non-ergonomic positions, while performing procedures on their patients. This - takes a toll on the body over time. For that reason, dentists tend to have a higher incidence of neck and back problems than the general population. Many dentists have the foresight to [...]
Nearly all long-term disability insurance policies exclude coverage for disabilities caused or contributed to by “pre-existing” conditions. Although the 2014 Affordable Care Act known widely as “Obamacare” now prohibits pre-existing condition exclusions in health insurance policies, it is important to understand that this law does not apply to disability insurance. The legitimate purpose for these [...]
Most of RW's clients are highly driven, successful professionals and executives. As a group, these are people who have a great deal of themselves invested in their careers, emotionally, financially, and even in terms of their identities. Our clients do not want to be disabled. People like this deserve the benefit of the doubt when [...]
ERISA Long Term Disability This case resulted in a favorable reported decision from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court rejected a reading of disability policies which would unfairly deny a broad class of claims, and adopted a more practical, realistic analysis of competitive employment for analyzing disability claims.
ERISA Long Term Disability Our client graduated first in his class from a highly respected private law school. After practicing successfully for more than twenty years he suffered a "mild" traumatic brain injury when his car was rear-ended by a speeding car. He became unable to handle the cognitive and emotional demands of his sophisticated [...]
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 [...]
