Long-Term Disability
Lawyers in Wisconsin
Get What’s Fair from Your Long-Term Disability Insurance
The whole point of having long-term disability insurance is to hold on to economic security when your health takes a downturn and you have to step away from your career.
You or your employer paid the premiums. When you need the coverage but the insurance company rejects you, you can push back to get what’s fair.
The Wisconsin long-term disability lawyers at the Becker Law Office and Hawks Quindel know how to handle long-term disability insurance companies on your behalf. You can get us to protect your rights and financial future—and usually you don’t pay an attorney fee until you succeed.
You could have one of two types of long-term disability insurance:
- An ERISA Plan: This is long-term disability you get from a job. It’s generally the less expensive type but may also be stricter in approving claims and less generous in the amount of money you receive. It’s named for the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which sets the rules for these policies.
- An Individual Plan: If you bought long-term disability insurance on your own, the premiums are probably higher but the coverage may also be greater.
Bring your claim denial to our Wisconsin long-term disability law firm, so we can make sure the insurance company doesn’t get away with shortchanging you for its own benefit.
If You Got Your Plan Through Work, ERISA Disability Attorneys Protect Your Rights
You built a career and life. A major health disruption threatens everything. Long-term disability insurance can preserve the lifestyle you’ve known . . .
. . . if the insurance company lives up to its responsibilities.
Here are some facts about ERISA-governed plans:
- The payments are typically between 50% and 75% of your salary when you could work. Individual plans can pay more, but also cost more.
- With an ERISA plan, it can be a challenge to get the insurance company to agree that your medical situation means you’re unable to work.
Your ability to work must be impacted by a medical condition to win a long-term disability claim. But insurance policies have different definitions of how long is “long-term.” And insurance companies define being unable to work in different ways:
- The “Own Occupation” Standard awards benefits as long as your health stops you from doing the same job you had to leave.
- The “Any Occupation” Standard requires you to prove you couldn’t switch to any other job in existence and resume working.
ERISA plans lean more heavily on the tougher “any job” rule, sometimes granting benefits for a period of time but then saying you can’t continue receiving help unless you show you can’t do any job at all.
This is an entire, special area of law and business. If you’re not a professional in this kind of insurance yourself, you can’t be expected to know all the ins and outs.
Let the disability insurance lawyers at Becker Law and Hawks Quindel step in. Our disability lawyers devote their practice to helping workers who face injuries, mistreatment in the workplace and health impairments.
You also can talk to us about getting Social Security Disability benefits—the government-run counterpart to long-term disability.
An introductory conversation with our disability law team is free of charge.
How to Fight a Denial of Long-Term Disability Benefits, with Help from an LTD Lawyer
You could be denied long-term disability insurance from the start. Or you could receive benefits for a while, then get a premature termination of benefits.
You don’t have to accept this. Insurance companies sometimes serve their own bottom lines before your best interests. A skilled long-term disability attorney can find the ways they fail to live up to their agreements, and get it fixed.
The first step is filing an administrative appeal to the insurance company. Then you could file a lawsuit if that’s what it takes to make them respond.
Keep this in mind when appealing a long-term disability benefits denial:
- Just writing a letter stating that you appeal isn’t going to be enough to get the insurance company to overturn its decision.
- Keep an eye on the calendar. Don’t let the insurance company drag out their process of reviewing your appeal until it’s too late to sue.
- Watch out for deadlines the insurance company gives you, saying that you accept their decisions if you don’t respond by certain times.
- Be careful about what’s in any settlement offer they make, and how it may limit your future options.
- Work with a lawyer who can spot and steer you away from these pitfalls.
- Work with a lawyer who takes care of gathering the evidence and documentation you need.
Get in touch with our long-term disability lawyers in Wisconsin.
It’s a shame when insurance providers make it a hassle to use a financial cushion you’ve already paid for.
You should be treated better, and be able to rest more securely. Becker Law and Hawks Quindel can get you there.
What Happens When My Long-Term Disability Attorney Files a Lawsuit?
If appealing your long-term disability denial directly with the insurance company doesn’t unlock your benefits, you can file a lawsuit against the company.
When your insurance policy falls under ERISA, you can sue to have your benefits restored, have overdue benefits paid, and cover your LTD attorney costs.
With an ERISA policy, a judge will individually decide your case, not a jury in a trial where you get to speak.
And under ERISA, you can’t add evidence beyond what you submitted to the insurance company when you appealed your denied long-term disability insurance claim with them.
With an individual long-term disability plan not governed by ERISA, you can seek more from a lawsuit, including:
- Compensation for costs and losses you’ve suffered because they refused your claim, including the emotional toll of this ordeal.
- Compensation for bad faith behavior by the insurance company, which is when the insurer denies your claim without any good reason. They may have ignored key doctor’s notes or other medical records and evidence.
It’s tough suing a long-term disability insurance company because the burden of proving they acted wrongly falls on you.
But an experienced disability insurance lawyer, like the Wisconsin LTD lawyers at Becker, knows what to do.
We know the tactics of the long-term disability insurance companies operating in Wisconsin, including Cigna, Disability RMS, Hartford, Lincoln Financial, Madison National Life, MetLife, Mutual of Omaha, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, Prudential, Reliance Standard, Sun Life and Unum.
When to Get a Wisconsin Long-Term Disability Law Firm
When your long-term disability claim is denied, you should get a long-term disability lawyer immediately.
In fact, even if you suspect your claim will be denied based on the way your insurance company is acting, but you haven’t gotten a denial letter yet, it’s a good idea to talk to a long-term disability attorney.
This is some of what you’re up against:
- You have a short time to appeal a long-term disability insurance denial.
- The insurance company may say you can just write a letter to dispute the denial, but that’s not enough.
- Insurance companies may try to drag out your appeal until it’s too late to file a lawsuit.
You want a skilled LTD lawyer in place so you can make the right moves fast. If you wait to get an attorney until after you file your own appeal and get denied again, you’ll have fewer options for fighting the refusal.
When you’re looking at long-term disability law firms in Wisconsin, here’s how you can tell if they’re good:
- They have a focus on long-term disability law, which is a highly particular area of law.
- They have a long background in these kinds of cases, including years of experience.
- They can provide positive references from people who’ve worked with them before.
- They will give you an initial consultation on your case for free.
- They won’t charge you a fee until you win benefits—meaning your lawyer’s own compensation rests on your success.
Becker Law Office has helped thousands of clients in Wisconsin for decades. We charge NO FEE UNTIL YOU WIN.
To protect your rights and financial future, talk to our Wisconsin long-term disability law firm today.