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

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.

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 “prior coverage credit” means in your disability policy. What is prior coverage credit? P...

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 “merger clause” means in your disability policy. A merger clause is not a term labeled th...

Mental health awareness is increasingly important and applicable to all. Today, we're addressing “can FMLA be used for mental health?” A Refresher on FMLA The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires entities employing 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in the year, to allow 12 weeks ...

It is common to hear people who have a disability wishing to contribute through some type of work. When you cannot work productively, your self-esteem can be affected, and depression is often the result. Because those living with disabilities feel they can no longer utilize their education, train...

There is a bill called the Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act pending in both the House of Representatives and the Senate which could make ERISA much fairer. If you have a long-term disability benefit or disability policy, pension, retirement benefit, health insurance, or life insurance c...

When someone pushes through a difficult physical problem to continue to work, can that be used to punish them? Yes, if a long-term disability policy is involved. Many professionals in the workforce, lawyers included, insure themselves with a disability policy. Good policies insure the professiona...

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 “elimination period” means in your disability policy. The elimination period is the numbe...

We are commonly encouraged to do what we can to stay fit, but not everyone's weight is within their control. Today, we're highlighting a recent case which addressed the question: “Is lipedema liposuction covered by insurance?” What is Lipedema? Some people suffer from lipedema, a rare condition i...

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 “recurring disability” means in your disability policy. A recurring disability is a perio...

The United States Department of Labor's Office of the Solicitor uncovered rather extensive child labor violations by Paragon Contractors Corp. and owner Brian Jessop. More than 100 children under the age of 12 were employed during school hours to harvest pecans on a ranch in Utah. The Fair Labor ...

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 “schedule of benefits” means in your disability policy. The schedule of benefits is a hea...

We all know that texting while driving is a bad idea and has been the cause of countless accidents. But what about texting after an accident? Texting shortly after an accident might be very wise, especially when it serves as prompt notice of work-related injuries in writing to your employer. Poli...

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 “waiting period” means in your disability policy. The waiting period refers to the number...

The lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. Today, we want to help you understand what the term “entire contract” or “legal contract” means in your disability policy. Most people think that the policy itself is the entire contract, but that is ...

We often discuss the bad conduct by insurance companies and plan administrators. But what if a beneficiary engages in bad conduct? Some bad conduct can be grounds for refusing to pay a claim. For example, if a husband murders his wife, is he still entitled to her life insurance benefits? That doe...

The long term disability lawyers in our firm are focused on helping people with disability policies and ERISA claims. Today we are launching this new video series intended to give you “the edge” in understanding your disability policy. We will post a new video each Thursday. Each video will be ab...

Since ERISA is a federal statute and we focus on ERISA claims, we primarily practice in federal court. Pleading any case in federal court has its unique requirements; however, pleading a discrimination case has specific minimum requirements, which was recently illustrated in a case in the Elevent...

Depending on the claim, your ERISA pension could be taken away by companies that will then deprive you of a full and fair review in court. And, unfortunately, some courts go along with them. This was illustrated in a pending ERISA pension and retirement case in Mississippi. Facts of the Case: ...

Many clients have the impression that once their long-term disability benefit has been approved, they need only to complete annual forms to maintain their approval. The case Boatright v. Aetna Life Insurance Company recently decided by Judge Tom Barber in the Middle District of Florida on April 5...

We have all seen the recent increase of “help-wanted” and “now hiring” signs. It seems there are not enough people looking for jobs – especially in the restaurant and hotel industries. Surveys reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in December 2021 noted that 958,000 restaurant and hotel work...

The treating physician rule required decision-makers to accord special deference to the opinions of treating physicians. The rule is no longer applicable in Social Security cases or ERISA cases. In 2003, the Supreme Court adopted what is considered to be a middle-of-the-road approach, in which de...

So, you settled a personal injury lawsuit. An ERISA medical benefits plan previously put you on notice that it had paid medical expenses. The subrogation demand is a significant portion of the settlement. Do you have to pay the plan in full before you disburse funds to the client? What about your...

In 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) collected $234 million in back wages for 200,000 employees in violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This area of law could be a prime practice area for the plaintiff's counsel, as the DOL is likely only scratching the surface of the problem. ...

Being a home healthcare nurse can be a very challenging job. Deanna Pierce knows that all too well. She is also familiar with the ERISA games played by employers relating to an unsafe workplace environment. Sometimes those games are inappropriate and repulsive. Her case, Pierce v. Aveanna Healthc...