The Disability Application

In Tommy Dowdy and Sharon Morris-Dowdy v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Tommy Dowdy and his wife were entitled to receive accidental dismemberment benefits under Mrs. Dowdy’s MetLife disability policy she had through her work at Bank of the West. The appellate court remanded the case to the district court for a determination of “the amount of benefits owed.”

It all started in September 2014 when Tommy Dowdy was in a car accident. His left leg was severely injured, almost severing it at the ankle. Attempts to save his leg were unsuccessful due to a wound infection that would not heal. Finally, five months after the accident, the leg was amputated just below the knee.
Read more »

Watch our video to learn about the importance of medical documentation to support any disability insurance claim. Disability attorneys Gregory Dell and Alex Palamara discuss how Mr. Palamara won long term disability benefits for his client on administrative appeal to Mutual of Omaha. The case demonstrates the importance of having comprehensive medical documentation of how the diagnosis affects the claimant’s ability to work.
This client suffered from lupus, COPD, fibromyalgia, spinal stenosis, and emphysema. Even so, his claim for disability benefits was denied after his medical records were reviewed by a nurse.
Read more »

This video shows attorneys Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup discussing the importance of treating physicians to document not only the claimants’ diagnosis, but how that diagnosis affects their ability to do their job. In a recent case handled by Mr. Jessup, the client suffered from multiple sclerosis (MS). There came a time when the debilitating disease took its toll on her. She suffered from pain, fatigue, falling spells, and inability to concentrate. Her application for short-term disability benefits was approved.

Her health continued to deteriorate, so she applied for long-term disability benefits based essentially on the same medical records, but her application was denied. Despite her diagnosis of MS, and her medical records containing detailed information about her complaints, her treating physician and Lincoln apparently confused her ability to perform her job with her ability to perform activities of daily living and her appeal was denied.

Disability lawyers Gregory Dell and Alex Palamara talk about Mr. Palamara’s recent appeal victory against Cigna for a nurse employed by Trinity Health Care. She had been on claim for two years as disabled from working in her own occupation due to her spinal stenosis, degenerative disk disease, and other thoracic/lumbar spine issues.
Read more »

In this video, attorneys Gregory Dell and Rachel Alters discuss a Federal court ruling that Hartford acted arbitrarily and capriciously in terminating benefits after paying them for nearly two years to a claimant who suffered from fibromyalgia. In terminating her benefits, Hartford used techniques common to many disability insurance companies. Hartford hired a doctor, who never met or treated the patient, but only reviewed her medical records and reported that she could work in a sedentary position.
Read more »