Blog - ERISA and Disability Rights and Benefits - Alabama - The Martin Law Group, LLC

How old do you have to be to qualify for disability? You can be disabled at any age. Read this week's client story of a thirty-year-old pharmaceutical sales rep who faced a crippling on-the-job injury. April had a good job working for a pharmaceutical company. It was a hard job. She was on her fe...

Many times, the client who appears in your office has two or more different types of claims after suffering a workplace or personal injury. Mr. Smith (not his real name) was one of those clients. He suffered a workplace injury which ended his ability to work, at least for the near future. He went...

Did you know that ERISA plan administrators can claim they made a mistake many years before and then expect the person receiving the benefit to bear the cost of that mistake? Watch this week's client story on how a former client thought his pension issue was resolved 10 years before he actually r...

Financial decisions can become even more difficult when you are fighting to simply survive. Read how we help our clients maintain perspective and make the right decisions in the face of such difficult times. Geoffrey, a scientist working with fish and wildlife, found himself with the fight of his...

Sure, there is such a thing as a limited engagement, for stars and simple lawyers. But, for most of our clients, it isn't that simple. Watch this week's client story for an example of a never-ending saga.

Evaluating a case is more than dollars and cents. After all, how do you value chocolate covered strawberries? The law is generally fair and just. But, sometimes logic doesn't apply. Watch this week's client story to see the multiple lapses in logic in the journey for justice. Carol was a Customer...

Mr. Ward did not follow the prescribed procedures when signing up for his disability insurance. Can that be fatal to a claim? Mr. Ward worked for Pacific Architects, which had a long-term disability plan insured by Aetna. Under the plan, if a new employee signed up within 31 days of eligibility, ...

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 t...

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-ti...

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 worke...

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 vid...

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.

Teachers help take care of our children. But, what happens when teachers become disabled and can't financially take care of themselves? Watch this video for a story about a client that we helped but whose case could have been a much different story if a viable claim record had not been establishe...

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...

Mrs. Landry worked for 40 years for a terrific company. After suffering from a life-changing hemorrhagic stroke, her employer provided her with sick leave and a long-term disability benefit. Unfortunately, the disability insurer refused to pay her claim. Anyone can become disabled. Disability ins...

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 w...

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 Ne...

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 loo...

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 a...

A new case from the Fourth Circuit is timely in its theme as the U.S. Open, the modern version of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, has recently been underway. In this recent case, the need for long-term disability claimants to maintain vigilance regarding their claims was unde...

I Need to File Bankruptcy, and I Have a Long-Term Disability Claim Many employers offer long-term disability insurance coverage to help people who may become very ill or suffer a severe injury. However, too often, these people end up in dire financial straits, with no money to support a family. Q...

I have been in a friendly golf game where the players agreed to three mulligans or do-overs per game. I've also played games with small children, and if they messed up, I allowed them a do-over. However, when it comes to long-term disability claim decisions, you are dealing with a serious matter—...

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,...

The Fifth Circuit chastised the Life Insurance Company of North America (LINA), a CIGNA company, for playing this game. Facts of the Case The decedent, David White, was driving down the highway one afternoon when his car went straight on a curve resulting in a head-on collision with an oncomin...

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 disa...