Disability Lawyers

In basketball, certain physical contact with a player on the other team is deemed by the rules unfair and considered a foul. The penalty is free throw(s), or the ball is put in play again. Intentional fouls are used to prevent the other team from scoring or to preserve time. Sometimes the last minute of a game actually lasts substantially longer because the team that is behind fouls the other team to stop the clock. The check on unlimited fouls is that players who commit f

Many employees are in the dark when it comes to what rights and benefits they have. But just because a benefit may have expired does not mean that they do not have a claim. Check out a recent decision which confirms that there is light in the darkness. Many employees believe they have a benefit in place, such as life insurance, but in fact they have no benefit and are being kept in the dark. The life insurance may have been in place for many years and then, due to sickness,

Recently, a new long-term disability client lamented, “My old attorney said he didn’t really do this kind of case, but he said he would try to help me out.” The client was disabled because he lost the use of his arms which were critical in the only work that he knew how to perform. The attorney thought that he could simply write a letter appealing the claim denial, attach medical records and send it in to the insurer. He thought the insurance company would rollover and pay th

Many people work very hard for many years and wisely put money away for retirement in a 401(k) provided by their employer. However, when medical problems arise and they cannot continue working, they often deplete their 401(k) unnecessarily. A construction superintendent was highly valued, long-time employee. His knees and lower back started causing him problems. Fortunately, his job provided good benefits, including long term disability benefits, life insurance, and a 401(k).

Many clients want to know our level of experience in handling ERISA cases. Many also want to know if we have specifically handled claims against certain insurance companies or claims involving those with their same occupation. Watch this video about some of the different occupations we have worked with going back almost 20 years. #ERISAlawyerGeorgia #ERISAlawyerAlabama #ERISAlawyerMississippi #ERISAlawyerFlorida

You've seen those large cranes, the ones building commercial buildings or working on overpasses. How safe would you feel if the person rigging that crane was in constant mind-numbing and leg-numbing pain? In today's story, disability insurer for just such a worker wasn't concerned. Watch this video of the incredible client story. Mr. Earp worked as a rigger on very large cranes. He climbed up and down great heights to rig the crane for heavy lifts. His job required intense f

Because ERISA is a federal statute, cases are decided in federal court, allowing us to easily represent clients in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, and beyond. Watch this video which highlights our diverse clients. #ERISAlawyerMississippi #ERISAlawyerAlabama #ERISAlawyerGeorgia #ERISAlawyerFlorida

Did you know we meet at a location near many of our clients? Because many of our clients are disabled they cannot travel to our main office in Tuscaloosa, so we travel to locations near our clients in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia in order to conduct face-to-face meetings. So far this year, we have met with clients in Georgia (Atlanta and Columbus) and in Alabama (Huntsville, Auburn, Opelika, Birmingham, Cullman, Decatur, Montgomery, Enterprise, Dothan, Mobile, and Daphne)

Ask any team who just lost a close football game, and they will likely tell you that but for the penalties that should have been called on the other team, they would have won. The video review of plays has slowly crept into football, first professional and then college. But, there is a limit to what can be reviewed, and there are only certain calls that can result in a penalty being imposed when one wasn’t called on the field. ERISA is no different. The 11th Circuit recent

How often do you represent a professional football player? For someone who does ERISA work, not often. A few years ago, I had the privilege of representing one. He played football here at a state university for two years and then entered the NFL draft. He was selected in the fifth round by the New York Giants. He later played for two other teams. ut, before his last season, he was injured at training camp. Back then, NFL players were covered by a disability plan. Any playe

People often discover too late that their case is governed by ERISA. And, that can make or break a claim. At a minimum, it can dramatically alter a client’s expectations. Jury trials, punitive damages, and mental anguish damages are generally not allowed under ERISA. Therefore, that case that looks like a promising bad faith case, with the potential for a large recovery, may well be an ERISA case where damages are limited. The good news is that it is still a worthwhile case!

Have you ever had a close call with a case deadline? This is one of those stories. After 26 years of handling ERISA cases, even we occasionally experience new wrinkles. But, that experience enables us to deal with them. Regardless, we will always have our clients’ backs as well as our referring attorneys'. Mr. T’s long-term disability claim terminated in June. The letter denying the claim gave him until December 30 to appeal. In August, he hired an attorney. He did not realiz

Mr. Kerns found out the hard way that filing an ERISA case pro se is not the best idea. ERISA has very technical provisions protecting employees’ rights in the areas of long and short-term disability, life insurance, pension, retirement, and health benefits. However, ERISA also has very specific, hard and fast deadlines, and many unique statutory provisions. And, things done early in a claim can have lasting and negative impacts. Mr. Kerns mistakingly thought that punitive da

We often hear our clients say, "They denied my claim even though..." You can fill in the rest of the sentence with a number of different things, i.e. "even though... the government says I am disabled," "even though... all my doctors say I am disabled," "even though... workers' compensation says I am disabled," etc. Our response is always the same. ERISA is unfair, and all the "even though" statements in the world while making logical deductions or inferences will not win your

The Right to Respond The third change that the new claim procedure regulation will require is the right to respond to newly-considered or newly-generated information. Many times, plans “sandbag” – that is they wait until the final appeal to require an independent medical evaluation or send the file out for a peer review after the claimant submits her appeal. Then, without letting the claimant see this new evidence, they make their final decision and refuse to consider anythi