Contact a California Disability Insurance Attorney After Your Claim Has Been Denied

The Law Offices of Laurence F. Padway is here to serve you if, after developing a disability condition, your disability benefits claim has been denied after paying premiums for months or years. Contact our law firm to learn how we can help at any stage in the claims and appeals process. You can read more below, or better yet, talk to us directly for information and assistance.

You and Your Disability Insurance: Attorney Padway has spent his career preparing to help you through the difficult challenge of confronting your disability insurance carrier after your claim has been denied. Does your disability insurance fall under ERISA or non-ERISA? Does the policy contain discretionary clauses or clauses requiring you to transition to "any occupation" after two years despite your disability?

Disabling Conditions: Your medical condition may have resulted from an injury, such as a construction accident or car accident, or it may be an organic condition such as multiple sclerosis. It may be a directly observable condition such as blindness or an orthopedic impairment, or it may be harder for objective observers to detect fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome or dementia.

Notorious Carriers: Certain insurance carriers are well known to disability insurance attorneys and their clients for their tenacious refusal to make good on policies.

ERISA vs. Non-ERISA Disability Insurance: Know which type of disability insurance you have, and how it makes a difference.

ERISA: You most likely have an ERISA-covered disability insurance policy if it was provided by your employer, unless you work for the government or a church. Many health care workers may be considered to be employed by a church if it is owned by a religious organization, such as a hospital.

Non-ERISA: Your disability insurance may be considered "non-ERISA" if you purchased it privately, if you are a church employee (including hospital employees if your hospital is owned by a religious organization) or if you are a government employee.

Discretionary Clauses: Discretionary clauses that gave insurance carriers broad abilities to deny claims according to policy terms have been outlawed in California. Ask the Law Offices of Laurence F. Padway to examine your disability insurance policy and determine whether a discretionary clause has been wrongly applied in your case.

Transition from Own Occupation to Any Occupation: The "transition from own occupation to any occupation" clause in your disability insurance policy may sound innocuous—yet it may also be used by your insurance carrier as a pretext to deny payment when you have filed a legitimate claim.

ERISA Administrative Appeals: If your disability insurance falls under the provisions of ERISA, you must exhaust administrative appeals procedures before taking your case to court. The Law Offices of Laurence F. Padway represents disabled people in administrative hearings and in court.

ERISA Lawsuits: After you have exhausted administrative appeals in your disability denial case, a lawsuit in federal court may be the next step.

Bad Faith: Did your insurance carrier deny your claim in direct defiance of the disability policy's terms? Did the company act in bad faith by acting in a capricious and arbitrary manner or by ignoring key evidence?

Bad Faith Lawsuits: After your non-ERISA disability insurance claim has been denied, a bad faith lawsuit may be the answer. Attorney Padway's detailed preparation can help you in the courtroom.

Contact the Law Offices of Laurence F. Padway to schedule a free initial consultation.