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Mealey's Disability Insurance

  • January 21, 2025

    Disability Claimant To 7th Circuit: Lower Court Erred In Finding Burden Not Met

    CHICAGO — A district court erred in finding that a disability claimant failed to meet her burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that she remained disabled from working in a sedentary occupation as a result of symptoms related to fibromyalgia because the lower court ignored relevant precedent in finding that the claimant was no longer disabled, the claimant says in an appellant brief filed in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • January 15, 2025

    Questions Of Fact Exist On Disability Insurer’s Initial Denial Of LTD Claim

    SAN FRANCISCO — A bad faith claim alleged against a disability insurer can proceed because questions of fact exist on the issue of whether the insurer’s initial denial of a long-term disability (LTD) benefits claim was reasonable based on the evidence available to the insurer, a California federal judge said.

  • January 10, 2025

    Disability Insurer Wrongfully Terminated Benefits, Woman With Long COVID Says

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A woman who was diagnosed with long COVID filed suit on Jan. 9 in California federal court against her disability insurer, alleging that the insurer wrongfully terminated her long-term disability (LTD) benefits after determining that she was able to perform the duties of her own occupation as the director of operations at a museum.

  • January 10, 2025

    Disability Claimant Says Insurer Breached Policy, Acted Arbitrarily, Capriciously

    MIAMI — A disability insurer’s termination of a claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits was arbitrary and capricious and constitutes a breach of the disability policy, a disability claimant alleges in a Jan. 9 complaint filed in Florida federal court.

  • January 10, 2025

    Federal Judge Says Application Of Mental Health Limitation Was Not Unreasonable

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of a disability insurer after finding that the insurer did not incorrectly determine the claimant’s date of disability and did not unreasonably apply a mental health limitation to limit the payment of long-term disability (LTD) benefits to the claimant.

  • January 10, 2025

    Parties In Disability Dispute Allowed To File Administrative Record Under Seal

    SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A Massachusetts federal magistrate judge granted a joint motion filed by a disability claimant and disability insurer to file the administrative record under seal, according to a note on the court docket.

  • January 10, 2025

    Claimant Met Burden Of Showing She Is Disabled From Own Occupation, Judge Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted a disability claimant’s motion for judgment and denied a disability insurer’s motion for judgment after determining that the disability claimant met her burden of proving that she is disabled from performing the duties of her own occupation.

  • January 10, 2025

    Magistrate Judge Says Disability Insurer Did Not Have Right To Terminate Benefits

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge recommended that a disability claimant’s motion for summary judgment be granted and recommended a finding that the disability insurer’s decision to terminate the claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits was arbitrary and capricious because the insurer did not have the right to terminate the claimant’s benefits based on a failure to provide additional documents.

  • January 09, 2025

    NFL Disability Plan Tells 11th Circuit District Court Ruling Must Be Affirmed

    ATLANTA — A district court’s ruling in favor of the National Football League’s disability plan must be affirmed because the former NFL player failed to exhaust all administrative remedies and failed to show that any exceptional circumstances excused the failure to exhaust all administrative remedies, the plan says in its appellee brief filed in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • January 09, 2025

    Surgeon’s Petition For Rehearing Of Lifetime Sickness Benefits Dispute Denied

    SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Southern District Missouri Court of Appeals denied a disability claimant’s motion for rehearing, refusing to reconsider its ruling that a trial court properly found that a disability insurer did not breach its contract in determining that the insured surgeon was not entitled to lifetime sickness benefits because the surgeon was not totally disabled at the age of 60 prior to the policy anniversary date as required by the lifetime sickness benefits rider.

  • January 09, 2025

    Disability Insurer Cannot Use Evidence Collected After Claim Was Deemed Exhausted

    FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A disability insurer is not permitted to introduce any evidence gathered after the date on which a claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits claim was deemed exhausted because the insurer failed to issue a decision of the claimant’s appeal within 45 days as required by regulations set forth by the U.S. Department of Labor, an Indiana federal judge said in granting the claimant’s motion to exclude evidence collected after the date on which the claim was deemed exhausted.

  • January 09, 2025

    Disability Insurer Identified Substantial Evidence To Support Benefits Termination

    DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s ruling that a disability insurer’s termination of disability benefits was reasonable because the insurer identified substantial evidence to support its finding that the claimant was not disabled from performing the duties of any occupation.

  • January 08, 2025

    Disability Claimant Failed To Meet Burden Of Proving Benefits Are Owed, Panel Says

    PASADENA, Calif. —  The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s ruling in favor of a disability insurer after determining that the lower court did not err in finding that the claimant failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that she is entitled to short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) benefits because she failed to provide any objective findings in support of her claimed disability.

  • January 08, 2025

    Disability Insurer’s Termination Of Benefits Was Not Arbitrary, Capricious

    NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s judgment in favor of a disability insurer, agreeing with the lower court’s conclusion that the insurer’s termination of a claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits was not arbitrary and capricious because the termination was based on substantial evidence.

  • December 06, 2024

    New Jersey Federal Magistrate Allows Limited Discovery In Disability Dispute

    NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal magistrate judge on Dec. 5 determined that an attorney who alleges that his claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits was wrongfully denied is entitled to take very limited discovery regarding compensation and performance evaluations of personnel used by the disability insurer in evaluating his LTD claim.

  • December 06, 2024

    Claimant Appeals Ruling That She Failed To Meet Burden Of Proving Disability

    CINCINNATI — A disability claimant filed a notice of appeal to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, challenging a Michigan federal judge’s finding that she failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that she was disabled from performing the duties of her own occupation.

  • December 06, 2024

    Disability Insurer Properly Terminated LTD Benefits Based On Policy Limitation

    ST. LOUIS — A disability insurer’s termination of a disability claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits was reasonable because the insurer properly found that the claimant’s disability was the result of a mental illness, which limited the claimant’s benefits to 24 months, a Missouri federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for partial summary judgment.

  • December 06, 2024

    LTD Benefits Wrongfully Terminated Based On Policy Limitation, Claimant Says

    DENVER — A disability insurer and its claims administrator wrongfully terminated a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits based on the policy’s limitation for mental or nervous disorders, a disability claimant contends in a complaint filed in Colorado federal court.

  • December 06, 2024

    Denial Of STD Claim Was Not Arbitrary, Capricious, Minnesota Federal Judge Says

    MINNEAPOLIS — The denial of a short-term disability (STD) claim was not arbitrary and capricious because a reasonable person could have reached the same decision as the disability insurer and because the claimant’s medical records do not show that his conditions worsened to a point where he was unable to work, a Minnesota federal judge said in granting the insurer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • December 06, 2024

    New York Federal Judge Says Disability Claimant Met Burden, Is Owed Benefits

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted judgment in favor of a disability claimant after determining that the claimant met her burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that she was disabled from performing the duties of her own occupation as a result of symptoms caused by depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

  • December 05, 2024

    Doctor Entitled To Almost $98K In Attorney Fees For Success On Disability Claim

    SAN FRANCISCO — A pediatrician who successfully prevailed on her claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits based on her high risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus is entitled to $97,965 in attorney fees and $625 in costs because the pediatrician succeeded on the merits of her disability claim and the disability insurer presented no special circumstances that would warrant against an award, a California federal judge said in granting the pediatrician’s motion for attorney fees and costs.

  • December 05, 2024

    Denial Of LTD Benefits Claim Was Not Abuse Of Discretion, Texas Federal Judge Says

    DALLAS — A disability insurer did not abuse its discretion in denying a claim for long-term disability (LTD) benefits following remand of the LTD claim because substantial evidence supports the insurer’s finding that the claimant was capable of working in a sedentary position, a Texas federal judge said in granting judgment in favor of the disability insurer.

  • December 05, 2024

    Total Disability Questions Should Be Certified To La. High Court, Claimant Says

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should withdraw an unpublished opinion entered in favor of a disability insurer and certify two questions of law to the Louisiana Supreme Court regarding whether a disability claimant was required to prove that she was disabled from performing all of the duties of her occupation as a pharmacist in order to meet the policy’s definition of total disability, the claimant maintains.

  • December 04, 2024

    Federal Judge Affirms Denial Of Disability Claimant’s Motion To Clarify Record

    SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A Massachusetts federal judge affirmed a magistrate judge’s denial of a disability claimant’s motion to clarify and complete a claim record after determining that no part of the magistrate judge’s order is clearly erroneous or contrary to law.

  • November 22, 2024

    Federal Judge Reinstates LTD Benefits, Calls Unum’s Claims Handling Disappointing

    PORTLAND, Maine — A disability claimant’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits must be reinstated because Unum Life Insurance Company of America’s decision to terminate the benefits after paying for more than 20 years was arbitrary and capricious, a federal judge in Maine said after noting that “it was disappointing to review such an approach to claims handling by one of the nation's leading providers of long-term disability plans.”