As an ERISA attorney that has practiced for many years and represented plaintiffs in practically every state across the country and who has associated with attorneys nationwide, I have a lot of experience in how terrifying ERISA can be for both plaintiffs and attorneys who don’t practice in the area.  ERISA is a complex regulatory ...

It has been reported in the last several months of increasing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and burnout among medical providers due to the effects of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.  Before the pandemic, 16% of emergency physicians self-reported symptoms of PTSD. (Prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Emergency Physicians in the United States) Reported in ...

In May of this year, the Department of Labor issued an order suspending ERISA appeal deadlines due to Coronavirus/COVID-19.  The order is continuing until 60 days after either the Federal Government ends the state of emergency or the Department of Labor retracts its order.  How will this effect your long term disability claim?  On one ...

Our country is facing a new and very significant disease.  While the implications of it are far reaching, I expect that there will be a vast number of short term and long term disability claims related to Coronavirus (COVID-19).  Since the pandemic has hit the United States, I have been asked many questions about it, ...

One of the important issues that I think every ERISA short term/long term disability claimant needs to know about is what offsets or “other income benefits” are and how they affect short term and long term disability benefits.  Basically, the insurer gets credit for any other income that a claimant receives from other sources.  Here ...

If a person is covered by an ERISA governed employee benefit plan through a private employer, chances are that the plan is either self-funded or insured.  What is the difference? A self-funded plan means that the benefit plan is funded by an individual’s employer.  In other words, benefits are paid through a plan which is ...

One of the most difficult and complicated areas of ERISA law is a reversing a disability denial based upon a pre-existing condition exclusion. These types of exclusions are found in most every disability policy, and they contain language that states benefits will not be payable for pre-existing conditions that are the cause of a claimant’s ...

This is often one of the hardest questions to answer because it seems patently unfair. Frequently, clients will ask me if they can sue the insurance company to recover for the struggles they have endured over the lengthy process of fighting for benefits.  It is not unusual for clients to spend several months, if not ...

We’ve previously discussed on here multiple times the dangers and risks of using social media or having an on-line presence.  However, in these modern times, it is very hard not to have some type of on-line presence.  The Social Security Administration is currently looking into the possibility of monitoring disabled individuals’ social media.  The outcry ...

Previously, I did a video blog about the statute of limitations in ERISA cases.  Today, I wanted to provide a written blog post to further that discussion and provide some case law for Fourth Circuit practitioners.  As previously discussed, for a benefits claim, determining the statute of limitations can be a tricky subject.  However, the ...