A call where someone describes a denial entirely from memory rarely tells a lawyer much. A consultation where someone brings the actual paperwork tells a different story, often within the first few minutes. The difference usually comes down to preparation rather than the strength of the underlying claim.
We handle nothing but denied disability, life, and accidental death claims, almost all of them governed by ERISA, the federal law that controls most employer-sponsored benefits. Price McNamara began practicing in 1990 on the insurance side, defending the companies that write these policies. The document list below is not generic intake paperwork; it is built from more than 30 years of watching which records decide these claims.
We offer free reviews of denied ERISA claims, and what you bring shapes how specific our answer can be. Below is what helps most, and what each item is actually answering. Call J. Price McNamara at 225-201-8311 to schedule that review, and bring whatever you already have.
Start With the Denial Letter and Every Page That Came With It
Bring the complete denial letter, not just the first page or a summary of what it said. Under 29 CFR Section 2560.503-1, insurers are required to state the specific reasons for a denial, reference the plan provisions relied on, and describe what additional information would change the outcome. That exact language matters far more than a general impression of what the letter said.
Include any attachments that came with it. Those often include a peer review report, meaning a file review by a doctor the insurer retained to read records rather than examine you, an in-person examination report the insurer arranged, or a vocational assessment weighing what work you could still do. The attachments usually carry the actual reasoning behind the denial, while the letter may only summarize it.
If you received more than one letter, bring all of them in the order they arrived. The sequence often matters as much as the content, since a shift in the stated reasoning from one letter to the next can itself become a point in the appeal.
For a free legal consultation, call (225) 201-8311
Do You Have a Copy of the Policy or Summary Plan Description?
Bring the policy, certificate of coverage, or summary plan description if you have it, since the specific language defining disability, the exclusions that apply, and any discretionary clause all live in that document rather than in the denial letter. A discretionary clause is the provision that asks a court to defer to the insurer’s own reading of the plan, and whether one exists can shape the entire case. Many people have never seen this document at all, which is common and not a problem.
If you do not have it yet, that is worth mentioning at the consultation rather than delaying the meeting to track it down. Under 29 U.S.C. Section 1024(b)(4), a plan administrator must furnish a copy of the governing plan documents on written request. That request has teeth under Section 1132(c)(1), which lets a court hold an administrator who does not answer within 30 days personally liable for a daily penalty, and sending it is usually one of the first things we do after a consultation, rather than something you need to arrange in advance.
Even a partial version helps. An old enrollment guide, a benefits summary from a company intranet, or an email from human resources can all give useful context. Bring whatever version you can find and note where it came from, since that helps confirm whether it matches what the insurer is relying on.
Bring a Simple Timeline, Not Just a Folder of Records
A handwritten or typed timeline listing when the condition first affected your work, when you first sought care, when you stopped working, and when each major test or appointment happened is often more useful than the records themselves during a first conversation. Records are dense and take time to review in detail, while a timeline gives an immediate sense of the shape of the case.
Include dates you may not think are directly relevant, such as when a job duty changed, when an accommodation request was made, or when the condition was first raised with a doctor, even in passing. Gaps in a timeline are a common basis for denial, and having the full picture in front of you means those gaps get explained rather than left open.
It also helps to note what happened around any period where treatment slowed down or stopped. A gap in treatment is one of the most common things pointed to as evidence that a condition improved, so a simple explanation, whether it was scheduling or a lapse in coverage, is worth having ready before the appeal is written.
Click to contact our insurance claim lawyers today
Have You Gathered Records From Every Treating Provider, Not Just the Most Recent One?
Also bring records, or at least a list, of every provider involved in your care, not only the doctor currently managing the condition. Primary care records, therapy notes, behavioral health records, and records from providers you saw once or twice all matter, because a condition can look undocumented for a period when it was simply being treated somewhere else.
If gathering every record before the consultation is not realistic, a list of provider names, approximate dates, and general locations is enough to start. You have a direct right to your own records under 45 CFR Section 164.524, which is usually the fastest route, and we can also request them on your behalf under a written authorization meeting 45 CFR Section 164.508 once representation begins.
This matters most for a condition treated by more than one kind of doctor, where a primary care physician and a treating consultant each hold part of the record. A review that draws only on the most obviously relevant provider leaves the rest of that record unexamined, and a complete provider list is what makes the omission visible in an appeal.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form now
What Employment Information Should You Bring?
Bring your job description, or at least a written summary of your day-to-day duties and physical requirements. Denials often turn on whether a claimant can still perform the material duties of their occupation, and that analysis is sometimes run off a generic job title rather than the actual job, which a description on file with your employer can directly contradict.
Also, bring your last date worked, any written accommodation requests you made, and recent pay information if available, since benefit amounts are often calculated from pre-disability earnings and disputes over that calculation are more common than people expect.
If you were reassigned to lighter duties before eventually stopping work entirely, bring documentation of that transition too. A modified role is often read as evidence that some version of the job remained possible, when the modification itself is usually the clearest sign the original job had stopped being sustainable.
Why We Ask for These Specific Documents Before Your First Call
Price McNamara spent his first years in practice, beginning in 1990, on the insurance side of these disputes, and that experience shapes exactly which documents we ask for. We are not asking for paperwork to fill a file, but because each document answers a specific argument likely to come back.
Every case we take runs on contingency, so a client owes nothing upfront and nothing at all unless we recover benefits. We front the cost of medical record requests, plan document requests, and outside professional reviews once representation begins, and those costs are not billed back to you if the claim does not succeed. Our fee percentage carries a fixed cap and does not increase if the claim moves into federal litigation.
That arrangement is part of The Four Guarantees we extend to every client. No Fee or Cost, since you owe nothing unless we recover your benefits. Transparency, so you know where your claim stands at every stage rather than waiting on an update.
No Risk of Regrets, a 30-day trial period during which you can end the representation for any reason. Complete Convenience, since the firm works 100% virtually and you never need to travel to an office to move your claim forward.
We handle these claims nationwide because ERISA cases are filed and argued electronically in federal court, no matter where a client lives. We walk clients through exactly what still needs to be gathered after the consultation, not just what to bring to it. Call 225-201-8311 and bring whatever you already have.
Bring Copies of Any Correspondence With the Insurer, Even the Small Stuff
Bring emails, letters, claim numbers, and notes from phone calls, including the names of any adjusters or nurse case managers you spoke with and roughly when. Certain things have to be communicated in writing, but a great deal of claims handling still happens by phone, and your own record of those calls matters if the two accounts differ.
If a lawsuit becomes necessary, this correspondence helps show whether the insurer met the claims-handling obligations set out in 29 CFR Section 2560.503-1, since delayed responses or shifting explanations become relevant once a case moves toward litigation. The suit itself is brought under 29 U.S.C. Section 1132(a)(1)(B), the provision that lets a participant sue to recover benefits due under the terms of the plan.
Even a voicemail you never returned or a text confirming a callback helps fix the sequence of events, which otherwise gets reconstructed from the claim file alone.
Should You Bring Social Security or Other Benefit Determinations?
Bring any decision letter you received from the Social Security Administration, whether it approved or denied disability benefits, since 29 CFR Section 2560.503-1(j)(6)(i)(C) requires a disability plan denying an appeal to explain why it disagrees with a Social Security disability determination the claimant put in front of it. A Social Security approval that an insurer never addressed can be a meaningful gap in the insurer’s own reasoning.
Also, bring any other disability determinations you have received, including from a state program, workers’ compensation proceeding, or a separate long-term disability insurer, since consistency or inconsistency across these decisions can matter depending on how the ERISA claim is structured.
Bring the full award or denial notice rather than just the summary letter. These determinations often include specific findings about limitations that are directly useful in a disability appeal, even though the Social Security standard differs in important ways from most private insurance definitions.
For Life and Accidental Death Claims, Bring the Beneficiary and Ownership Paperwork
If your consultation involves a life insurance or accidental death claim rather than a disability dispute, bring the beneficiary designation form if you have access to it, along with any documentation showing changes made to that designation over time. In an ERISA plan, the administrator pays according to the plan’s own documents and the designation on file with it. State laws that automatically strip an ex-spouse of a beneficiary designation after a divorce generally do not override that, and it surprises families more than any other rule in this area.
Bring the death certificate, any autopsy or medical examiner report if one exists, and documentation of the relationship between the claimant and the deceased if that relationship is not obvious from the paperwork alone.
If more than one person believes they are entitled to the proceeds, bring whatever documentation exists about the competing claims, including divorce decrees, prior beneficiary forms, or correspondence with the insurer. Knowing who else may be involved shapes the strategy from the first conversation.
FAQs: What to Bring to an ERISA Consultation
People preparing for a first ERISA call tend to raise the same practical questions, and these are the ones that come up most often.
What if I do not have most of these documents yet?
That is common and not a reason to delay scheduling a consultation. Bring what you have, and we can discuss what still needs to be requested and who is responsible for requesting it.
Will my employer refuse to give me the plan document if I ask?
Generally, no, since federal law requires the plan administrator to provide it, though the process can take a few weeks and sometimes requires a follow-up request. Send the request in writing and keep a copy, because the 30-day clock and the penalty that backs it only run from a written request.
Does bringing too much information hurt my case, or does it need to be organized first?
No to both. More documentation almost always helps us give a more accurate first assessment, and a general folder or even a loose stack is fine, since the goal is to have the material available rather than presented in any particular order.
Can I do a consultation by phone or video instead of meeting in person?
Yes, most ERISA consultations happen by phone or video, since these cases proceed through paperwork and federal filings rather than in-person court appearances. Documents can be shared electronically before or during the call.
What if some of my medical records are with a provider I no longer see or cannot easily reach?
Bring whatever contact information you still have for that provider, even if it is incomplete or outdated. Older records are often still available somewhere and can be requested once representation begins.
What if my denial letter does not really explain why the claim was turned down?
Bring it anyway, because that is itself worth raising. The claims regulation requires specific reasons, the plan provisions relied on, and a description of what else would change the outcome, and a letter that does none of this becomes a point in the appeal rather than a dead end.
Schedule a Free ERISA Consultation and Bring What You Have
None of this preparation needs to be perfect before you call. The goal is simply to give us enough to work with, so the first conversation is specific to your case rather than general.
Call J. Price McNamara at 225-201-8311 to schedule a free review, and bring whatever paperwork you already have sitting in a drawer, an inbox, or a folder on your computer. We will tell you plainly what else is worth gathering and who should be the one to gather it.
Call or text (225) 201-8311 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
