Long Term Disability Insurance Attorney

Nationwide Representation For Long Term Disability Insurance Claim Denials

It’s a terrible feeling – you’re handling the family crisis and emotional distress that comes with your disability from working. Then you’re shocked by the insurance company’s unfair denial. 

Your own doctors say you’re disabled. You know you’re disabled. But the insurance company is claiming that you’re not, or that it doesn’t have to pay you for some technical reason that doesn’t make sense or seem fair.

And you’ve paid premium for this coverage for years! 

Whatever excuse they’re giving you, you’re thrown into the confusing legal world of insurance policy definitions, administrative appeals, and federal “ERISA” law. 

But persevere – the insurance companies are often WRONG or BREAKING THE LAW, and if so you CAN overturn a denial. 

Whether you’re filing an initial claim for short or long term disability benefits, or appealing a denial, building your strongest claim involves the same process. Getting it right is critical.

Read on to learn step-by-step best practices for doing so from our “Win My Benefits Process,” developed and refined over 30 years of handling these claims.

Appealing a Long Term Disability Insurance Claim Denial (A Former Insurance Company Attorney Insider’s Advice)

As a former insurance company attorney, I can tell you how the insurance company hopes you respond to its denial letter, and what you should do instead. 

The insurance company hopes you respond to its denial of benefits in one of two ways:

1. You give up and go away, or 
2. You file an “appeal” that simply argues why the claim denial was wrong, without submitting stronger new EVIDENCE (most claimants and attorneys unfamiliar with federal ERISA law make this mistake). 

The insurance company knows that by choosing either of those two routes, you will lose your last and best chance of getting benefits. 

They know that ERISA law prohibits the court from considering any evidence that you don’t submit with your appeal before filing suit (most claimants and attorneys unfamiliar with ERISA law don’t realize this until it’s too late). 

But there’s a third way to respond.  It’s what the insurance company DOESN’T want you to do, and it’s exactly what you SHOULD do. 

That is, BUILD your claim and appeal strategically with NEW EVIDENCE (not just ARGUMENT), using a tried and true PROCESS that PROVES your claim the way they know will stand up in court if they deny your appeal. 

That’s what wins benefit claims – both appeals and lawsuits, and the years of future financial security you paid to protect. Avoiding pitfalls and getting it right is critical.

For a free legal consultation with a Insurance Claim lawyer serving Nationwide, call (225) 201-8311

HOW TO BUILD A GREAT APPEAL FOR A DISABILITY INSURANCE CLAIM DENIAL

A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS TO BUILD A STRONG APPEAL FOR A DISABILITY INSURANCE CLAIM DENIAL

Building the best administrative appeal for a Disability Insurance claim denial requires a process. Beginning with the potential end in mind (federal court), you’ll want to use the administrative appeal process to gather, create and introduce ALL available supporting evidence into the administrative record. Any evidence you submit to the insurance company in the process becomes part of that record. That record is ultimately filed into the court record if a lawsuit becomes necessary, and it forms the only evidence the court can consider.

So where to start? 

The process we follow, described below, will help guide you to develop the nuts and bolts of a strong, well-supported administrative appeal.  

1. GATHER AND ANALYZE

Analyze the Insurance Company’s Denial Letters

We analyze the reasons given by the insurance company for denying the claim. This serves as our primary roadmap for what and where our focus needs to be.

Analyze the Disability Insurance Company’s Claim File or Administrative Record

The insurance company is required to provide upon written request, and free of charge, its entire claim file/administrative record. It’s typically over a thousand pages long.  We review every page, and we always find information there helpful to the case. It consists of all medical and other evidence the insurer gathered earlier in the process through authorizations signed by the claimant, through private investigation, including surveillance video. It also includes the insurance company’s own consulting medical, vocational rehabilitation and other expert opinions and reports. The insurance company is required to include all evidence generated in connection with the claim whether or not the insurance company relied upon it to support the denial.

Much more is contained in that record than is mentioned in the insurance company’s denial letters. We often find evidence that directly contradicts the insurance company’s denial, or a lack of evidence to support a reasons it gave to support a denial.

We have even found evidence that the insurance company’s own expert directly contradicted a denial of benefits. In fact, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals awarded benefits in one  client’s case, finding that the insurance company illegally withheld from my client its own expert’s report, which directly contradicted the denial of benefits. This underscores the importance of reading every page of the administrative record. Without reviewing every page of that 1000 plus page record to find the buried report, our client would not have received the benefits she needed and deserved. It also shows the importance of never giving up, as the win came as a reversal of a district court ruling that the insurance company did not have to pay.

(You can Google White v. Life Insurance Company of North America (CIGNA), 892 F.3d 762 (5th Cir. 2018), as revised (Jun 14, 2018) to read the full court opinion. If interested, you can also listen to CIGNA counsel’s and my oral arguments, and the court’s vocal suspicions at winmybenefits.com. You might find it an eye-opener on how far an insurance company will go to avoid a big payout by arguing an intoxication exclusion.) 

We also need to determine what supportive medical or other available evidence we deem important is not in the record, as well as what evidence we need to contradict the opinions of medical, vocational rehabilitation and other experts the insurance company hired to support its denial. All such additional evidence we can gather must be included as part of our appeal. That way it becomes part of the administrative record which can later be considered by the court if the claim is denied on administrative appeal.

Analyze the Disability Insurance Policy, Plan and Summary Plan Description

You can request these documents directly from the Insurance company, the ERISA Plan Administrator or the employer’s human resources department. They are required by law to give you these documents or face a stiff fine if they refuse or ignore you.

We look at the policy definition of disability. The definition can vary from policy to policy. This definition drives what the claimant must prove to be considered disabled under the policy.

Most policies have variations of two definitions for disability. 

Typically, for the first 24 months, a claimant only has to be unable to perform their “own occupation.” The definition of “own occupation” is found in the policy. Usually it will state that the definition is based on how the job is performed in the national economy as defined by the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, not how the claimant actually performs his or her own occupation.

In most policies, after 24 months, a claimant must prove that he or she cannot perform “any occupation.” Usually the definition includes “any occupation” that the claimant can perform based on his or her education, background and skills. 

The “any occupation” standard often also includes a salary percentage requirement. This provision means that the company cannot deny benefits on the basis that the claimant can perform the duties of any job, at any wage. Instead, to support a denial, the insurance company must identify occupations that will pay the claimant usually at least 80 percent (typically) of their pre-disability income. 

In many cases, the disability insurance company will pay benefits for the first 24 month “own occupation” period, then terminate benefits under the “any occupation” provision. This triggers the start of the administrative process the same as an initial claim denial.

We also analyze all other insurance policy language (it differs from company to company and policy to policy), as well as the ERISA Plan itself and the Summary Plan Description. We regularly find helpful contradictions and technical violations in these documents. We also regularly find provisions that contradict the insurance company’s stated reasons for denying a claim. 

We sometimes find that the insurance company wrongfully denies a claim based on policy language of an older or newer version of the policy that doesn’t even apply to your case. Or, we may find that the insurance company is seeking to use an unfavorable policy amendment that doesn’t apply to the case to wrongfully deny the claim. 

In some cases we find that a provision the insurance company is using to deny a claim is ambiguous, or contradicted by other policy or plan provisions, making the denial legally unenforceable.

The entire insurance policy, ERISA Plan and Summary Plan Description should be read carefully to determine any provisions that undermine the insurance company’s claim denial.

Think About Basic Information You May Know to Support the Claim

Remember, the insurance company doesn’t go out of its way to gather evidence it thinks will help get you paid. Just the opposite is true. These claims involve large sums of money the insurance company would rather not pay.

Also remember you have only 180 days to file the appeal. So you need to really focus on gathering any helpful evidence, and quickly.

We interview our clients to determine details about medical history and treatment, educational background, former work history, occupational duties at the time of disability and the nature of the disability. This lets us get to know them better and gives us our foundation to build upon. We determine all medical history and explore what family members, coworkers or friends can provide affidavits describing their observations of the claimant’s mental or physical manifestations of disability. 

We then schedule interviews with those people to prepare the appropriate affidavits. A claimant’s affidavit is prepared, describing in detail the nature, intensity, frequency and duration of all pain, physical restrictions and limitations, all mental or physical effects of any prescribed medication, how all of these things affect physical functioning, concentration, memory, the need for breaks or rest, etc. Corroborating affidavits are prepared for family members, coworkers or friends noting their observations. The more detail the better. 

We get the claimant’s official written job description from the employer’s human resources department and include in the affidavit the client’s comments on whether the job in actual practice is different, and if so, how. If the insurance company claim file contains surveillance, we have the client comment on that as well and include it in the affidavit. 

Gather and Analyze Medical Records to See How Well They Support the Claim for Disability and Supplement where Needed

Medical records are ALWAYS important in a long term disability claim. Some of these may be supportive of the claim, but missing from the insurance company’s administrative record or claim file. Others may have errors hurting your claim that need to be corrected, and the corrected versions must be re-submitted to the insurance company with your appeal.  

 We gather, review, study and summarize the relevant medical records, physician reports, diagnostic studies, etc. Here, we look for areas of potential strengths, weaknesses or the absence of evidence needed for claim support. The focus is to determine where we need to build evidence that supports disability as defined in the policy, and addresses the reasons the insurance company gives to support its denial of benefits.

When Physicians write their reports, they are not necessarily attempting to cover all information in the kind of detail needed to support a disability claim. They often rely on computer programs when preparing their notes that simply do not have fields concerning the evidence necessary to support a claim. So the support needed may be weak or absent. They often don’t state any opinions specifying physical restrictions in enough detail. The insurance companies then cite “lack of evidence” to support the disability. That evidence may in reality exist, but is just not stated in the records in the kind of detail necessary. Insurance companies know this and exploit it. Sometimes the records contain plain errors that hurt the claim. These need correcting so that the record is straight.

Wherever we find weaknesses, the absence of important evidence or errors in the medical records, we correct the problems using a number of different approaches depending on the case at hand. 

For instance, we may need to get detailed input from treating Physicians, as well as other medical experts as needed for the particular case. We may need to ask treating Physicians to address certain issues not previously addressed specifically and in detail in a report. We may need to push to have certain medical diagnostic tests run to offer unequivocal proof of the existence of a disabling condition. We may need a physician to address in writing the disabling side effects of prescribed medications not previously addressed. In some cases we may need to retain additional Physicians of various specialties to provide an opinion. 

We sometimes meet face-to-face with treating Physicians to determine their opinions on relevant details. We sometimes ask them to write a report addressing whether the claimant’s affidavit (attached to the report) is consistent with what the physician would expect given the medical condition at hand, or whether any surveillance affects his or her opinion regarding disability. Whatever the weakness or absence of evidence or error in the medical records might be, we do everything we can to correct it.

2. BUILD AND EXECUTE

Decide what Additional Evidence May be Helpful

Wherever you find weaknesses, the absence of important evidence or errors in the records, correct the problems using a number of different approaches depending on the case at hand. 

At this point, we determine what, if any additional medical or other forms of evidence not forming part of the administrative record might be helpful to support the case. This varies from case to case, but may include a functional capacity evaluation as evidence of the claimant’s physical restrictions, further medical diagnostic studies to provide objective evidence of a disabling medical condition, additional affidavits of the claimant, family members or coworkers regarding any important new issues discovered but not addressed in their initial affidavits. 

An expert vocational rehabilitation evaluation is sometimes warranted to rebut an insurance company’s similar expert’s opinion regarding a claimant’s ability to perform a certain occupation, or what Dictionary of Occupational Titles occupation best resembles the client’s actual job, or what items the insurance company’s expert failed to consider.

Again, the important thing is that all evidence building, supplementing or correcting has to be done during the administrative appeal process and put into the administrative record as part of the administrative appeal. Otherwise it’s useless, as the court can’t consider it if introduced later.

This process must be accomplished thoroughly, but also rapidly due to the deadlines as outlined above.

Conduct Legal Research

We conduct nationwide computer research, combing for judicial opinions factually similar or otherwise supportive of the claim and our legal arguments. We save these so we can later cite to them and quote portions of them to support our arguments to the insurance company, and later to the court if necessary.

Construct the Best Administrative Appeal Argument

We then again analyze and dismantle the written reasons given by the insurance company for denying the claim. We do this by using everything helpful we find from all of the above efforts, and assemble it into a concise, impactful argument. It’s a blended argument of our strongest facts, woven together with our strongest legal arguments, citing relevant policy provisions, the administrative record and our new evidence which will now be submitted and become part of that record as part of our appeal. It’s constructed much like a legal brief filed in court, tailored to follow the same pattern the court will use analyze the case. The insurance companies will know you have built a solid case to be taken to court if they again deny the claim.

Final Review

Before we submit our administrative appeal argument and supporting evidence to the insurance company (which will ultimately be our argument to the court), we examine our argument again in detail to determine whether it triggers new ideas for any additional evidence which may be supportive. 

Submit the Best Administrative Appeal Argument and Await a Decision

After we feel that we’ve left no stone unturned, and have crafted our very best arguments in favor of the claim, we submit our administrative appeal, along with all supporting documentation that was not already part of the original administrative record, to the insurance company. We send this by certified mail to avoid any argument by the insurance company that it was not sent within the legal deadline for appealing.

The insurance company now has 45 days to render a decision, with one 45 day extension which it commonly takes, giving the claimant a written decision with reasons.

If the insurance company reverses its denial, great! Make sure they calculate benefits and any offsets accurately and for the full period of back pay owed.  

If it doesn’t, your efforts and argument will still be useful in the lawsuit that follows. Be sure to request an updated copy of the administrative record and make sure it includes all of the evidence you submitted. This will help to avoid a later argument in court about the completeness of the administrative record to be considered by the judge.

Following the above steps will give you the best chances of getting your benefit denial reversed on administrative appeal. But equally important, if your claim is denied on administrative appeal, you have built the strongest record possible for getting the denial reversed in federal court.

Nationwide Long-Term Disability Lawyer Near Me (225) 201-8311

HOW ERISA LAW IMPACTS LONG TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE CLAIMS AND DENIALS

WHY DOES FEDERAL ERISA LAW APPLY TO MOST DISABILITY INSURANCE CLAIMS FILED IN THE U.S., AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

The majority of Disabiity Insurance claims in the U.S. are governed by the federal ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) statute. With a few exceptions, ERISA governs all Disabiity Insurance claims involving insurance policies or plans which form part of employee benefits package. So most claim denials fall under ERISA law.

Yet handling an ERISA Disability Insurance claim, from the administrative appeal to the federal court lawsuit, is a complex minefield for the unfamiliar. Everything about it is different. Insurance companies and their attorneys know and understand how to use ERISA’s complexities to their advantage. But claimants, and often their attorneys, typically don’t until it’s too late.

Unfortunately, most claimants file ERISA administrative appeals unrepresented, or represented by attorneys unfamiliar with ERISA law. The result is often the permanent loss of a benefits claim that could and should have been successful. Understanding the following will help to avoid unnecessary losses.

WHAT THE INSURANCE COMPANY HOPES YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT FEDERAL ERISA LAW UNTIL IT’S TOO LATE 

THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL…

WHAT MAKES THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL IN AN ERISA DISABILITY INSURANCE CLAIM SO CRITICAL? CAN’T I ALWAYS FILE SUIT AND GET SERIOUS ABOUT BUILDING A CASE LATER IF THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL IS DENIED?

The simple answer is “no”, and comes as a surprise to many after it’s too late.

What makes the administrative appeal so critical, is that the federal judge in the ERISA lawsuit that follows, cannot consider any evidence that was not made part of the administrative record during the administrative appeal process. So the administrative appeal is your only chance to gather, create and build the best evidence to support your case later in court. The evidence you submit during the administrative appeal process becomes part of that record that the court can later consider. Whatever case you build (or don’t) is carved in stone before you ever file suit.

That the administrative appeal makes or breaks your case cannot be overstated. It is during this process, before a lawsuit can even be filed, that most claimants lose without realizing it.

A brief overview of the life of an ERISA Disability Insurance claim, and how it’s so different, underscores the importance of the administrative appeal for its success. 

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WHAT IS SO DIFFERENT ABOUT AN ERISA DISABILITY INSURANCE CASE?

The process starts when someone files an initial application or claim for Disability Insurance benefits, usually without attorney assistance, and receives a written denial of their claim by the insurance company.

Disability Insurance policies purchased by individuals on their own, independent of their employment, are not governed by ERISA. For individual Disability Insurance policies not governed by ERISA, if the insurer denies the claim, the claimant can go directly to state court and file a lawsuit. No “administrative appeal” to the insurance company is required, and there is no requirement that the lawsuit be filed in federal court. Normal state court procedure, including all typical discovery methods are available. The claimant has the right to a jury trial, and all parties can introduce traditional evidence, including live witness testimony. Bad faith penalty remedies are available under state law that are unavailable under federal ERISA law. Typical litigation.

However, if the claim is governed by ERISA, as most are, a mandatory administrative appeal process is required by ERISA before a claimant can file suit to challenge a denial of benefits. The claimant must file the administrative appeal with the same insurance company that denied the claim. Then that same insurance company, which also must pay benefits if it reverses itself, decides whether or not to reverse itself and pay benefits – crazy but true.

WARNING 1: The deadline for filing an administrative appeal on a denied Disability Insurance claim is 180 days from the date of the written denial. Missing an administrative appeal deadline is as fatal to a claim as the passing of a statute of limitations with very few exceptions. Missing it means the claim is over, and the denial cannot be challenged.

If the Disability Insurance company again denies benefits following a timely administrative appeal (a very common outcome), the claimant can only then file a lawsuit, which must be filed in federal court. State court is without jurisdiction. 

THE FEDERAL COURT LAWSUIT IN  ERISA CLAIMS IS UNUSUAL

Understanding the following about the lawsuit that follows helps highlight the importance of the administrative appeal.  An ERISA insurance claim lawsuit in federal court is different from others. It doesn’t follow the typical federal procedural path. Most federal district courts use special scheduling orders tailored specifically to the unique way ERISA cases reach court resolution. 

ERISA has its own statutory venue rules. Discovery is restricted, really almost nonexistent. The parties have no right to a jury trial. No witness testimony is presented. The only “trial” at all is a trial on briefs referencing the administrative record filed with the court, either on cross-motions for summary judgment or simply motions for judgment on the administrative record. 

 The court reviews a denial under an “abuse of discretion” standard, requiring it to give great deference to the financially- conflicted insurance company’s decision. Courts have even upheld the insurance company’s administrative appeal decision while expressly stating that it is contrary to how the court would have ruled independently on the evidence. 

Choice of venue and choice of law considerations are critical because they can impact the standard of review, as some states have laws prohibiting “abuse of discretion” review, and such laws apply in ERISA cases. Most of the governing substantive law, however, is either ERISA-specific or federal common law jurisprudence, with much disagreement on many issues among and even within federal court jurisdictions. 

WARNING 2: But most important, and most pertinent to the impact of the administrative appeal, the federal judge in an ERISA case cannot consider any evidence that was not made part of the administrative record, during the administrative appeal process, before suit is filed. 

The insurance companies and their attorneys know this. So they load the administrative record with evidence and reports of their own consulting “experts” favorable to their position in denying the claim. 

Most claimants and many attorneys don’t know this. So most claimants and many attorneys file “administrative appeals”, but submit no supporting evidence beyond medical records. They basically argue how unfair the denial is after they paid policy premiums for years. The arguments may be true, but they are not “evidence” that the insurance company or the court must consider. Filing an administrative appeal this way does absolutely nothing to help the claim, and it’s exactly what the insurance company hopes a claimant will do. It wastes the claimant’s best and only opportunity to build the best case for reversal, either on administrative appeal, or in court if the insurer denies the claim again.

But you won’t make that mistake. Instead, you’re going to BUILD a great appeal systematically following the process outlined above, and have the strongest record possible for any required lawsuit.

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More On the Critical “Own Occupation” and “Any Occupation” Distinction in Policy Definitions for “Total Disability”or Totally Disabled”

As briefly addressed above, in long-term disability policies the definition of “disability” can vary from policy to policy. This definition drives what the claimant must prove to be considered disabled under the policy.

In our experience, most policies have some variation of  the following two definitions for disability. 

1. Typically, for the first 24 months, a claimant only has to be unable to perform their “own occupation.” The definition of “own occupation” is found in the policy. Usually it will state that the definition is based on how the job is performed in the national economy as defined by the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, not how the claimant actually performs his or her own occupation.

1. In most policies, after 24 months, a claimant must prove that he or she cannot perform “any occupation.” Usually the definition includes “any occupation” that the claimant can perform based on his or her education, background, and skills. 

The “any occupation” standard often also includes a salary percentage component. This provision means that the company cannot deny benefits on the basis that the claimant can perform the duties of any job, at any wage. Instead, to support a denial, the insurance company must identify occupations that will pay the claimant usually at least 80 percent (typically) of their pre-disability income. 

In many cases, the disability insurance company will pay benefits for the first 24 month “own occupation” period, then terminate benefits under the “any occupation” provision. This triggers the start of the administrative appeal process the same as an initial claim denial.

An Example from one of many actual clients we’ve represented who was paid benefits for 24 months under the “Own Occupation” definition, but then denied continued benefits under the “Any Occupation” definition will help explain. The denial was reversed on appeal.

Our client Jim (not his real name), a 58-year-old family man and sole breadwinner, was a Heavy Equipment Operator for his whole career. But after a heart attack, his heart disease and lack of cardio capacity caused shortness of breath, dizziness, and complete numbing of his hands. 

The disability insurer, New York Life Insurance Company, agreed that Jim’s heart disease disabled him from being a Heavy Equipment Operator and paid him disability benefits of 60% of his $78,000 annual salary for 24 months. 

But after paying for 24 months, they terminated Jim’s benefits.  They claimed that, while he remained disabled from the required duties of a Heavy Equipment Operator, he was capable of performing the duties of other sedentary desk-job occupations. 

The insurer based its termination of benefits on an extremely shallow vocational expert’s report that didn’t properly analyze all the duties of these desk jobs, each of which required computer skills that Jim clearly lacked. The insurer’s vocational expert never interviewed or met with Jim.

Justice Delivered on Appeal

Jim helped us develop a detailed educational and work-experience background, with special attention to his lack of computer experience. We also got vocational expert input of our own to prove that Jim, although physically capable, simply did not have the skillset to perform all the duties of the alternative occupations the insurance company had identified.

A disability insurer can’t just point to jobs someone can physically perform within his or her medical restrictions and label the person not disabled. The job needs to be one that the disabled victim can perform given his or her current skill level without the need of extensive new training.

With this additional evidence, added to the record in our appeal, the insurance company’s vocational expert agreed that Jim remained disabled. He was awarded all back pay owed, and will receive benefits going forward to age 67 as long as he remains disabled. 

Beware Before You File Your Initial Disability Insurance Claim

The timing for initially filing your claim can be critical to its ultimate success for a number of reasons that may not be obvious. 

An example from one of our past clients illustrates one of many reasons why: 

Our client had a back condition, a lumbar spine herniated disc.  He visited his primary care physician complaining of back pain within three months before becoming insured under his employer’s long term disability policy. Our client’s back condition deteriorated, ultimately resulting in disability from carrying out his employment duties following a back surgery for the same condition less than a year after becoming insured under the policy. 

The policy had a pre-existing condition exclusion as most policies do. The pre-existing condition exclusion stated that if an insured becomes disabled within a year of becoming insured under the policy by a medical condition for which any medical treatment was received within three months before becoming insured under the policy, coverage was excluded.

Our client, with his doctor’s support, stopped working and claimed disability from working just one week before he had been insured for a year. The pre-existing condition exclusion therefore applied to exclude long term disability coverage which could have paid him monthly benefits for years! The sad thing is, he could easily have grinded his way to continue working for another week, and the pre-existing condition exclusion would not have applied.

The above is just one of many reasons you should consult with a long-term disability attorney before you file your claim to avoid making a mistakes in your claim forms or important timing decisions. Effectively applying for long-term disability benefits requires a clear understanding of your policy, supporting documentation, and the insurer’s process. 

If Your Short-Term Disability Benefits Were Denied or  Terminated

If you were denied short term disability benefits, or they were first approved, but the insurer terminated those benefits, you may have the right to get them reinstated on appeal, and to also receive long term disability benefits under the terms of your LTD policy. The process we cover here for appealing a denied long term disability claim applies the same way to short term disability claim denials.

Work With Us to Get Your Benefits

We are here to answer any questions you have during a free consultation. Our firm welcomes telephone calls or the opportunity to visit with you in person during a Free Denial Review, where we can learn about your situation, review your long-term disability policy, and explain the complexities of disability law.

There is no obligation whatsoever to hire us as your long term disability lawyer. If you ultimately decide to hire us for your disability insurance claim, we will handle your case on a contingent fee basis. We receive compensation only if you win your case. In other words, you will owe us nothing — no attorney’s fee and no reimbursement of our advanced litigation costs unless we recover disability benefits for you.

Mr. McNamara holds the highest possible peer review rating of “AV” (“Very High to Pre-Eminent”) for professional excellence and ethical standards. Trust us to protect your rights.

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