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Disability insurance policies provide benefits if you cannot perform the duties of your occupation. How does this apply to nurses working in a specialty? The insurer may categorize nurses as a registered nurse and overlook the demands of the medical specialty. A neonatal nurse or emergency room nurse needs mobility and exemplary multitasking skills to…

As a general rule, litigation over matters of insurance coverage should take place in the Federal or State forum in which the insurance contract is signed. However, disabled claimants are sometimes surprised to learn that their policy contains a “forum selection clause”–a provision in the policy dictating that any litigation regarding the contract must take…

If you are suffering from fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and need to go on disability, chances are that you will receive push back from your short term or long term disability insurer. Insurers often resist claims based on fibromyalgia and CFS. More often than not, insurers will require claimants to provide “objective evidence”…

As disability attorneys, we often meet with individuals who have continued working after developing a disabling condition for various reasons, both financial and professional. Insurance companies will often refuse to find a claimant disabled until he or she stops working entirely. However, some individuals may have a legitimate disability claim that begins prior to leaving…

As the Wall Street Journal recently discussed, residual benefits might be a useful option in the case of a professional who becomes ill and, after a period of recovery returns to work on a reduced schedule and therefore loses incomes. If the policy was issued in the 80’s or 90’s, it may even compensate for…

Often employees are offered individual disability policies at a discounted rate if purchased with other employees. The employee may deal directly with a broker or the insurance company to purchase the policy, with the only employer connection a payroll deduction for premiums. The employees expect they have purchased an individual disability policy that is not…

In December 2012, we posted a blog regarding laws protecting Long Term Care Insurance consumers. Long Term Care is becoming an increasingly important area of focus as our population ages. However, the data inescapably indicates that LTCI is far more of a women’s issue than a men’s issue. The New York Times recently published an…

The issue of whether a claimant with a relapsing and remitting condition is entitled to benefits arises fairly frequently in the disability context. Insurance companies often justify a denial of benefits on the fact that a claimant is in remission, or on the fact that a claimant’s variable symptoms have abated for a period of…

Fibromyalgia remains an enigmatic condition, as its symptoms are entirely self-reported and there is no objective testing that can confirm the presence of the disease. See MD Guidelines. This often makes it extremely difficult for claimants with fibromyalgia to get their disability carriers to pay their claims. Fortunately, the Social Security Administration came out with…

On November 27, 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in the matter of U.S. Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen. The question is simple — can an insurer require an ERISA beneficiary to reimburse it for health coverage payments made if the individual recovers money from the responsible party? In the usual…