The Kantor & Kantor firm is proud of a recent successful appeal we won for a client with back pain and severe depression. The client has degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine causing back pain when he sat for longer than a few hours each day.The constant back pain caused the client to be […]
Suppose you are disabled and receiving disability benefits from a long-term disability (LTD) insurance policy. In that case, there is a chance your insurance company will offer you a buy-out. If your insurance company offers you a buy-out, you may have many questions, like: Why did this happen? What does this mean? Do I need […]
It is not uncommon that an initial claim for Long-Term Disability (“LTD”) is denied. This can be for a variety of reasons, most commonly including: lack of coverage, lack of medical evidence, lack of objective medical evidence, or a determination that, despite medical evidence of disability, the illness or injury is not significant enough to […]
Kantor and Kantor recently obtained long-term disability benefits for a client with multiple sclerosis. He worked with the disease as an executive for a number of years, but slowly his illness progressed, and he struggled to continue working.He developed cognitive issues which became progressively worse, causing him to have difficulty making decisions, trouble organizing and […]
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) – also called chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) – is a serious and often permanent health condition characterized mostly by constant exhaustion and chronic pain. Although this condition is diagnosed hundreds of thousands of times per year in the United States, it is still not well understood. It is hardy even talked about […]
Courts Are Right To Reject Insurer ERISA Attorney Fee AwardsBy Elizabeth Hopkins, Partner at Kantor & Kantor, LLPExpert Analysis – OpinionAs the U.S. Supreme Court has often recognized, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is remedial legislation that is primarily intended to protect plan participants and beneficiaries, promote their interests and ensure that they receive the benefits they […]
The State Of Article III Standing In ERISA CasesBy Elizabeth Hopkins, Partner at Kantor & Kantor, LLPExpert AnalysisMore than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2020 Employee Retirement Income Security Act ruling in Thole v. U.S. Bank, it is fair to ask whether lower courts have heeded the justices’ admonition and made sense of […]
In 1972, Congress passed legislation to provide automatic increases linked to a rise in consumer prices. Recipients would no longer have to wait for Congress to take action to receive an increase. The first automatic increases to Social Security benefits took effect in 1975. After 1982, cost of living adjustments (“COLAs”) were effective for December […]
The United States Department of Education recently announced it would forgive the student debt of more than 300,000 disabled borrowers. Could this impact your long-term disability benefits?The topic this pertains to is offsets (amounts that can be subtracted). Insurance carriers are allowed to take offsets from their claimants’ benefits. The “Other Income” provision of your […]
Your ERISA Watch – What a Difference Discretion MakesMayer v. Ringler Assocs. Inc., No. 20-1281, __, F.4th __, 2021 WL 3556473 (2d Cir. Aug. 12, 2021) (Before Circuit Judges Walker, Sack, and Menashi).This week’s notable decision demonstrates the uphill battle ERISA claimants face in litigation with insurers over their employee benefits, particularly where courts apply […]
