Blog | ERISA and Disability Rights and Benefits | Alabama | The Martin Law Firm, LLC

One tool that can be effective in correcting unfairness with underpaid medical benefit claims is the class-action. An example can be seen in the recent class action filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, Stewart et al v. Cigna Corporation and Cigna Health and L...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “reasonable accommodation” means in your disability policy. To understand that term in yo...

A frequent debate between employers and employees is whether the employee is exempt or nonexempt. The reason why that matters is usually linked to whether overtime is due to be paid under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Nonexempt employees receive overtime and exempt employees do not. Someti...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “own occupation” means in your disability policy. Your common sense tells you that your “...

The facts of a recent case read like Cinderella. Batal-Sholler v. Batal, 2:21-cv-00376-NT (D. Me. Aug. 15, 2022). But the lessons in employment law still resonate. Facts of the Case: Ed started an insurance agency in the 1960s. In 1983, he asked his daughter Nancy to move back to Maine and joi...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “any occupation” means in your disability policy. Any occupation in the disability policy...

If you recall the post a few weeks ago on the Stewart v. Hartford case, you will remember that discretion in an ERISA disability benefit plan was a big problem. With discretion, the court allowed the insurance company to interpret policy terms inconsistently and against the insured. Insurance com...

More than a few clients have been very excited to receive a right-to-sue letter from the EEOC, assuming it means they have a good case. They assume a good lawyer will get them a large recovery. But that is not the case. What is a Right to Sue Letter from EEOC? Before proceeding with a discriminat...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “discretionary authority” means in your disability policy. Discretionary authority is leg...

Employees who were promised life insurance or health insurance upon retirement, only to find out that such benefits are being cut off, may feel like they have either had the “wool pulled over their eyes” or “the rug pulled out from under their feet.” ERISA doesn't tolerate it either. However, it ...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “legal incompetence” means in your disability policy. Many people think that being sudden...

What better way for companies to entice people to long-term employment than by offering stellar retirement benefits? After all, “a stitch in time saves nine.” In other words, if you sort out a problem immediately it may save a lot of extra work later. Some companies offer the benefits initially b...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “proof of loss” means in your disability policy. What is “proof of loss?” Proof of loss i...

In a recent case, the Court saw through the thinly veiled disguise of the old game of delay, so often used to withhold benefits from long-term disability claimants. Splitting up decisions and requiring multiple appeals or challenges over the same claim is an unreasonable and unlawful claim proces...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “notice of claim” means in your disability policy. “Notice of claim” is just that. If you...

Volunteer work is a great way for people to contribute to a worthy cause, learn about an occupation, develop skills, and build confidence. The Department of Labor, in interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), recognizes the benefits of volunteer work when individuals are involved in chari...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “the claim” means in your disability policy. The claim is a request for the insurance com...

Depending on the situation, it is possible for an employee to be fired for something that occurred with a previous employer. However, if an employee is telling the truth regarding Title VII or FMLA in a deposition against a former employer, the termination by their current employer may be problem...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “regular and appropriate care” means in your disability policy. “Regular and appropriate ...

Managing Attorney David Martin was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law and Litigation – ERISA. For more than 40 years, Best Lawyers has been regarded—by both the profession and the public—as the most cr...

ERISA allows very limited remedies to life insurance claim denial. One is a breach of contract-type remedy – a claim for benefits. Another is one for equitable relief, which courts have cast as a “catchall.” It is only available when there is no claim for benefits. ERISA designates certain person...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “maximum benefit period” means in your disability policy. This term, maximum benefit peri...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “when coverage ends” means in your disability policy. “When coverage ends” is usually def...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. We want to give you the edge in understanding your policy. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “actively at work” means in your disability policy. Not only is this provision often foun...

Many employees experience a hostile work environment after suffering a disability. This may be due to other employees who are concerned that they must pick up the slack of the disabled employee or a supervisor who is concerned that the disabled person is not pulling their weight.