Our client, Carl Barteau was a former College Professor, who had always experienced vision problems. However, in 2002, his vision worsened and the treatment which he received caused extreme pain and migraines. In addition, Mr. Barteau suffered from multi disc degeneration in his back. The insurer for his employer, Prudential Insurance Company, paid Mr. Barteau’s benefits for several years and then terminated his benefits without any signs of improvement in Mr. Barteau’s condition. Rather, to support its claim termination, Prudential had Mr. Barteau’s claim file reviewed by a physician it routinely uses in its claims administration, Dr. Steven Gerson. The case was brought to trial and the Court held that Prudential erroneously terminated the benefits without any signs of improvement. In addition, the trial court found that Dr. Steven Gerson did not provide a full and fair assessment of Mr. Barteau’s disability, but rather, had acted as an advocate for Prudential. Mr. Barteau was awarded his back benefits and was reinstated to the Plan. Barteau v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 2009 WL 1505193 (C.D., Cal, 2009).
After working for his employer for over 35 years, Samuel Toven submitted a disability claim due to an eye injury, diabetes and depression. Although Social Security recognized that Mr. Toven was disabled from “any occupation,” his employer’s insurer, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, refused to grant him disability benefits. Kantor & Kantor, LLP successfully fought to take the depositions of MetLife’s claim representatives and used that testimony at trial to obtain a victory for Mr. Toven. Mr. Toven’s back benefits were paid and he was reinstated to the Plan. Toven v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 2008 WL 5101727 (C.D., Cal, 2008).
