MetLife agrees to overturn its denial of long term disability benefits for Florida Doctor after an ERISA appeal filed by Alex Palamara
A Florida Anesthesiologist contacted our office after being denied long term disability benefits by MetLife. Prior to making a claim for such benefits, our client had worked as an Anesthesiologist since the early 1980’s. Unfortunately for our client, she began suffering from various health conditions which left her unable to engage in her regular occupation. Her conditions included: Left Shoulder Arthritis, Osteoarthritis of the Left Shoulder, AC Joint Arthritis, Left Ulnar Neuropathy, Ulnar Nerve Lesion, Left Wrist Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, Right 5th Finger Phalanx Fracture, Fatigue, Essential Hypertension, Osteopenia, Hypothyroidism, Chronic Migraines, Esophageal Reflux, Vitamin D Deficiency and Hyperlipidemia.
Fortunately for our client, she had purchased a long term disability policy in 1987 for this very situation so that she would be paid a benefit should she be unable to continue working due to disabling medical conditions. Shortly after stopping work in September of 2013, our client made a claim under the aforementioned policy that she had paid premiums on for 26+ years. Unfortunately for our client, after paying benefits for less than one month under a “reservation of rights”, MetLife denied her claim and stated that it had determined that she was able “to perform the duties of your occupation.” As such, MetLife denied her claim and refused to pay any further long term disability benefits.
While dejected due to MetLife’s obvious incorrect determination, our client realized that MetLife’s decision was incorrect and something had to be done about it. Within days of receiving the June 27, 2014 denial letter, the Florida Anesthesiologist found Attorney Alexander Palamara to assist her with her claim for long term disability benefits.
Alexander Palamara of Dell Disability Lawyers Gets Involved
Attorney Palamara quickly reviewed the denial letter and relevant medical records provided from his now client. After this review, it was obvious that MetLife’s decision was blatantly wrong and that the Florida Anesthesiologist should be on claim receiving long term disability benefits.
Review of the Claim and the Filing of the Administrative Appeal
After receiving and reviewing all the files from MetLife and all relevant medical records from the client’s treating physicians, Attorney Palamara could see that the in-house internal reviews MetLife relied upon were biased to the point of having no reliability whatsoever. An appeal was quickly filed that both challenge MetLife’s internal reviews and focused on the objective medical evidence that easily proved that our client could not, in no way, shape or form, perform the duties of her own occupation.
MetLife Overturns Its Incorrect Decision
By way of a letter dated August 3, 2015, we received word that MetLife had completed its review of our client’s appeal for Individual Disability Benefits. MetLife informed us that it now found that our client’s “claim of Total Disability beginning September 13, 2013 to be supported at this time.” As such, our client will now thus be paid her rightfully owed long term disability benefits and MetLife will be paying all past due benefits previously owed.
While we are so happy for this fantastic outcome, our client knows that the fight continues. Fortunately, our client rests assured because she knows that Attorney Palamara and Dell Disability Lawyers will continue to do whatever it takes to see that she remains on claim until she is able and ready to return to work or until her policy expires.
If you have been denied disability benefits by MetLife or any other disability insurance company, please do not hesitate to contact Attorney Alexander Palamara at Dell Disability Lawyers for a free consultation.
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They will do anything to not approve your claim
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They FULL OF ****
MetLife for disability? Avoid the surgery unless it's life-threatening
Only care about $$$$$
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They demanded an overpayment, stopped my claim, and lied about it
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Your decision making process is absurd!
My husband has 2-5 yrs to live, yet MetLife has been giving him the run around
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Inappropriate conduct!! Rude, discriminatory, etc
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5 Ways We Help Get Your Benefits Paid
Our goal is to get your application for disability insurance benefits approved. Applying for disability insurance benefits can be a difficult process and the information you provide is critical. Most disability insurance companies look at your application in hopes of finding a reason to deny your claim. Your disability company will ask you to complete numerous forms, interview you, request lots of information, speak with your doctors and possibly request to have you examined by their hired gun doctor.
Through our experience of having helped thousands of disability insurance claimants, our disability insurance lawyers will guide you through the entire application process and give you the best chance to get your disability claim approved the first time.
If your disability insurance benefits have been wrongfully denied, then our disability insurance lawyers know exactly what it takes to get your disability claim approved. You only get once chance to submit an Appeal, therefore every piece of evidence that will support your disability claim must be included. The goal is to win your disability benefits at the Appeal level, but while preparing your Appeal you must consider how a federal judge will review your disability claim if your benefit denial is upheld.
Preparing a strong disability appeal package is an art that requires you to understand how the courts interpret your disability policy language, ERISA regulations / laws, and how to strategically present evidence in support of your definition of disability. We encourage you to contact any of our long-term disability attorneys for a free immediate review of your disability denial.
98% of the disability insurance lawsuits filed by our law firm have resulted in either the payment of benefits or a lump-sum settlement agreement. Our disability insurance attorneys have filed ERISA governed and private policy long term disability insurance lawsuits against every major disability insurance company in state and federal courts nationwide and we love fighting for the little guy against the multi-billion dollar insurance company giants.
We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients and we would like the opportunity to provide you with a free review of your disability benefit denial. There are many complex factors in a disability benefit lawsuit and the legal battle to win long term disability benefits can be fierce.
Approval of long-term disability is a continuous process as every disability insurance company will evaluate your eligibility for benefits on a monthly basis. You can never let your guard down and assume that your disability company will continue to pay your benefits for as long as you think you need them.
Our disability insurance law firm offers a reasonable flat fee monthly claim handling service in which we handle every aspect of your long-term disability claim and do whatever it takes to make sure you are paid every month.
Let's discuss if a lump-sum settlement or buyout of your disability insurance claim is both available and makes financial sense for you. Our disability insurance lawyers have negotiated more than five-hundred million dollars in disability insurance buyouts and we know how to get you a maximum settlement. A disability insurance company is not required to offer a buyout and not every disability company offers them.
Questions About Hiring Us
We are disability insurance attorneys that know how to get your short or long term disability benefits paid. As a nationwide law firm we have helped thousands of disability insurance claimants throughout the United States to collect hundreds of millions of dollars of disability insurance benefits from every major disability insurance company.
Our attorneys have been able to either get our clients paid monthly disability benefits or obtain a one-time lump-sum settlement in more than 98% of our cases. Our disability insurance lawyers have seen it all when it comes to disability insurance claims and we know exactly what it takes for your disability claim to be approved.
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Our disability insurance attorneys help individuals that have either purchased a long term disability insurance policy from an insurance company or obtained short or long term disability insurance coverage as a benefit from their employer. We have helped individuals in almost every type of occupation with monthly disability benefit payments ranging from $1,500 to $50,000.
Our clients include all types of employees ranging from retail associates, sales representatives, government employees, police officers, teachers, janitors, nurses, pilots, truck drivers, financial advisors, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, consultants, IT professionals, engineers, professional athletes, business owners, and high level executives.
A strong understanding and presentation of the duties of your occupation is essential for securing disability insurance benefits.
Yes. We are a national disability insurance law firm that is available to represent you regardless of where you live in the United States. We have partner lawyers in every state and we have filed lawsuits in most federal courts nationwide. Our disability insurance lawyers represent disability claimants at all stages of a claim for disability insurance benefits. There is nothing that our lawyers have not seen in the disability insurance world.
Since we represent disability insurance claimants at different stages of a disability insurance claim we offer a variety of different fee options. We understand that claimants living on disability insurance benefits have a limited source of income; therefore we always try to work with the claimant to make our attorney fees as affordable as possible.
The three available fee options are a contingency fee agreement (no attorney fee or cost unless we make a recovery), hourly fee or fixed flat rate.
In every case we provide each client with a written fee agreement detailing the terms and conditions. We always offer a free initial phone consultation and we appreciate the opportunity to work with you in obtaining payment of your disability insurance benefits.
No. For purposes of efficiency and to reduce expenses for our clients we have found that 99% of our clients prefer to communicate via phone, email, fax, or video conferencing sessions. If you prefer an initial in-person meeting please let us know. A disability company will never require you to come to their office and similarly we are set up so that we handle your entire claim without the need for you to come to our office.
When you call us during normal business hours you will immediately speak with a disability insurance attorney. We can be reached at 800-698-9159 or by email. Lawyers and staff must return all client calls same day. Client emails are usually replied to within the same business day and seem to be the preferred and most efficient method of communication for most clients.