The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), enacted by Congress in 1974, is a federal law which governs employee benefit plans. Almost all private employer group long term disability plans are governed by ERISA.
Statistics show that over 70% of long term disability insurance claims are denied. The hiring of an experienced disability insurance claims attorney is highly recommended during the appeals stage. When your long term disability insurance claim is denied, you usually have 180 days to appeal. The appeal must be in writing and filed with the insurance company. Usually, if your appeal is denied, you have an opportunity to file a second and final appeal with the insurance company. The appeals process gives you an opportunity to update your medical records. The filing of an ERISA appeal is probably the most important step in the entire claim process. This can be a very difficult task for an inexperienced person to undertake.
Under ERISA, you are required to exhaust all appeals before initiating the filing of a lawsuit. It is very important to know that a federal court may not review any additional material, including witness or physician testimony or prior medical data not previously provided during the appeals process, and the court will probably be limited to the administrative record at hand. This is why it is important to submit a comprehensive submission of favorable data during the appeals process.
If the filing of a lawsuit is necessary, the suit is brought in federal court with a judge deciding the outcome of the case, not a jury. Typically, the judge reviews the administrative record, memorandums of law, pleadings submitted by lawyers on both sides and issues a summary judgment. In addition, bad faith laws and punitive damages do not apply in ERISA claims.
The Law Firm of J.P. Gonzalez-Sirgo, P.A. represents individuals that have had their valid long term disability insurance benefits denied, delayed or terminated.
You can reach Long Term Disability Insurance Claims Lawyer J.P. Gonzalez-Sirgo by dialing his direct number at (786) 272-5841, calling the main office at (305) 461-1095, or Toll Free at 1 (866) 71-CLAIM or email J.P. directly at [email protected].
