ERISA
What Remedies Are Available to Me if I Win My ERISA-Governed LTD Appeal in Court?
When you are denied long-term disability benefits under an ERISA-governed plan, you have the right to appeal that denial of benefits. Before you can file...
What is a Transferable Skills Analysis (TSA) Report?
When you apply for long-term disability benefits, your insurance company often will require you to participate in specific examinations and assessments. The point of these...
If I Have a Disability that Requires My Employer to Provide Me with Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace, Shouldn’t I Also Qualify for LTD Benefits?
While both long-term disability insurance policies and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) provide definitions of disability, these definitions often are quite different. If an...
How Does My Insurance Company Consider My “Education, Training, and Experience” in Evaluating My Long-Term Disability Claim?
In many long-term disability insurance policies, eligibility for benefits initially is based on your inability to perform the essential tasks of your “own occupation.” In...
What Are “Substantial and Material” Duties of My Own Occupation?
Long-term disability plans typically measure whether your medical condition prevents you from doing either your own occupation or any occupation. In some cases, the eligibility...
Can I Get Punitive Damages if My Insurance Company Denies My Claim in Bad Faith?
Only select states, including the state of California, permit insureds to file claims against their insurance companies for denying their applications for short or long-term...
How Do I Know if a Disability is Long-Term?
Long-term disability insurance policies differ in determining when a disability becomes a “long-term” disability as opposed to “short-term” disability. In many cases, for instance, a...
Different Definitions of Disability in Long-Term Disability Insurance Policies
The term “disability,” as used in a long-term disability insurance policy, refers to the criteria that the insurance company uses to determine whether you are...
Changes in the Taxability of Attorney’s Fees
Recent changes in the tax code have increased the taxability of some lawsuit settlements. As a result, recipients could end up paying taxes on the...
What Must an Insurance Company’s LTD Denial Letter Contain?
While ERISA always has required denial notices for long-term disability benefits claims to contain certain elements, the Department of Labor (DOL) recently revised some of...
What Are the Tax Ramifications of Receiving Long-Term Disability Benefits?
When you are pursuing a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits, you may not stop and consider the tax consequences of receiving those benefits. As...
How Do I Calculate What My Long-Term Disability Benefits Might Be?
Most long-term disability (LTD) benefits do not fully replace the wages that you were receiving at the time that your illness or injury made you...