Herbert M. Hill, P.A. has been providing services as an Orlando disability insurance attorney to the state of Florida for decades. Our office is committed to serving our clients as they pursue benefits.
As part of my continuing efforts to remain abreast of the case law governing Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability benefit claims, I routinely review newly issued case law reports which might prove of value in the course of my clients’ claims. Case law issued by federal courts ranging from the United States Supreme Court in Washington, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in Atlanta, and the local trial courts are reviewed. Also, as an Orlando disability insurance attorney, we remain current with the law in the State of Florida as it pertains to private Long Term disability policies.
In the course of that review recently, I came across a case that hammers home a point I have been making throughout my scores of years handling these claims as an Orlando disability insurance attorney. It cannot be more clear to me that the Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability insurance companies, such as Liberty Life, Aetna, Lincoln, Unum, Hartford, Symetra, MetLife, New York Life, MassMutual and Cigna, are all dead set against my clients having legal representation.
The statute which generally governs these group disability entitlements is known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The attorney’s fee provision in that statute is egregious. It essentially provides for no attorney’s fees unless you take the case through a hearing before a Judge. My best result for any client is to keep them out of the courthouse. That means my client has to pay the attorney’s fees, a fact which means there are very few attorneys such as us who practice solely in this area of the law.
The point is further proven on review of the case of Peer v. Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, (April 6, 2021). In that case, the insurance company wrongfully tried to go after the claimant’s attorney for attorney’s fees. The court rightfully said this was designed for the purpose of driving a stake between the claimant and the attorney, essentially leaving the claimant without representation. Now, some might suggest he could go hire another attorney but that simply is not the reality of the situation, especially when a case is mid-stream and the claimant is over a financial barrel.
Our experience is that insurance companies also wrongfully try to communicate directly with my client even though they have been instructed
not to do so. Because Congress established no regulatory structure over the behavior of these claims representatives and gutted all state law purporting to do so, these bullies try to run roughshod over claimants and they certainly do not want any attorneys slowing them down.
One of the first things we do for our clients is to get the claims representative off their backs with the incessant demand for documents they need tomorrow, threatening to close the files if the artificial deadline is not met. Right behind securing Short Term Disability or Long Term Disability benefits, relieving my clients of the stresses inherent in these claims is a prime goal. We handle the phone calls, the paperwork and get between you and the insurance company.
If you have any questions about your Short Term Disability or Long Term Disability claim, please give Herbert M. Hill, P.A. a call and we would be glad to answer any questions you may have. If you would like, after discussing your case, we can set a conference. In most circumstances, that conference would be free of charge but in no circumstance would you be under any obligation to hire me as your Orlando disability insurance attorney nor would you feel any pressure from me to do so.
Herbert M. Hill, P.A. is a law firm located in Orlando, Florida with a practice extending throughout the state of Florida. While the vast majority of cases handled are for disability insurance benefits, areas of practice include employee benefit claims of all sorts. The firm handles any claims arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) for disability benefits, medical benefits, retirement benefits of any sort, including pension, 401k, termination agreements, or the like as well as claims arising under private disability policies.
