Practice Areas
- ERISA Long-Term Disability
- Group Long-Term Disability
- Private Disability Insurance
- ERISA Benefits
- Social Security Disability
- Health Insurance Claims
- Life Insurance Claims
- Health Insurance Subrogation Claims
- Long-Term Care Benefits
What We Do
ERISA Long-Term Disability
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was enacted to protect employees’ rights to collect employee benefits, including pension benefits and employee benefits such as long-term disability, health insurance, life insurance and other benefits provided at work. One of the most important ERISA benefits is long-term disability (LTD) benefits, which can provide an income if you are injured or sick and unable to work. Insurance companies and ERISA administrators often wrongfully deny benefits to people who are disabled. Fighting to obtain ERISA LTD benefits requires a thorough understanding of a very complicated area of the law. For example, in ERISA LTD cases, most people don’t know that the disabled person usually only has one chance to appeal, and if the appeal is denied, a court can only look at the evidence that was submitted to the insurance company. When a person becomes sick or injured, he or she has many things to worry about, and may not understand all of the complicated procedures in obtaining LTD benefits. Insurance companies and ERISA administrators know this, and often deny benefits to people who are disabled, and hope to use the complicated rules in their favor. People seeking LTD benefits need a highly skilled legal team on their side; ERISA claims can be successfully litigated if the attorney is knowledgeable of ERISA procedures. Our team is led by Eric Buchanan, who has lectured at several national conferences on issues related to ERISA disability law. Eric and his law partners, Scott Wilson and Seth Holliday, have helped hundreds of people from across the country recover the LTD benefits they deserve. Do not take no for an answer when it comes to your rights. We can help!
Group Long-Term Disability
Eric and his team have helped disabled people fight for long-term disability insurance benefits, that were wrongfully denied by many insurance companies, including UnumProvident and the Unum group (and its subsidiaries, such as Paul Revere, Provident, Unum Life and others) as well as The Hartford, Met Life, CIGNA, CNA (Continental Casualty Company), Liberty, the Standard, Reliance Standard, Aetna and others. We have helped disabled people recover on claims for group long-term disability benefits governed by ERISA as well as private individual disability policies.
Private Disability Insurance
Many people have purchased private disability policies to protect them if they become disabled. Unfortunately, insurance companies save a lot of money by denying these claims. After working hard and paying expensive premiums, people who become sick or injured should not have to fight to get the benefits they were promised and that they paid for. Also, some states allow a disabled person who was wrongfully denied to recover additional money to compensate them for an insurance company’s bad faith in denying private disability benefits. Our team of attorneys can help you protect your rights, and recover the benefits you are due.
ERISA Benefits
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was created in 1974 to establish minimum standards for pension plans in private industry and to provide for extensive rules to protect employee’s rights to recover employee benefits, such as health insurance payments, long-term disability, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment benefits and other benefits provided by an employer. ERISA provides many rights for employees and covered dependents such as requiring plan administrators to disclose financial and other information concerning the plan, by establishing standards of conduct for plan fiduciaries, and by providing for appropriate remedies and access to the federal courts for those with claims under ERISA. Eric Buchanan has written several scholarly works on ERISA, and he and his team have years of experience in representing clients pursuing claims under ERISA. Do not trust less experienced counsel with your federally-mandated rights!
Social Security Disability
Do you feel like the Social Security Administration is unfairly denying or ignoring your claim? Anyone who paid enough in social security taxes is eligible to file a claim for social security disability if they are disabled. There are currently over nine million people on disability and two million people file disability benefits claims each year. The Social Security Administration has so many claims it may feel like social security is intentionally delaying your claim or that your case has been swallowed up in the system. The best way to fight is to have a social security attorney on your side, who will make sure social security is giving your case the attention it deserves.
Health Insurance Claims
If you pay your health insurance premiums, you expect the insurance company to pay your claims. Unfortunately, many insurance companies do not operate under the same philosophy. If you are dealing with an insurance company that refuses to pay your claims, don’t take no for an answer! Let Eric and his disability and benefits team fight for your rights under your health insurance policy.
Life Insurance Claims
Life insurance premiums are one of those “necessary evils” of life. When a loved one is lost, the last thing a person wants to worry about is fighting an insurance company for the proceeds of a life insurance policy. Our team is ready to fight for the rights the decedent acquired under the policy so those left behind will not have to do so.
Health Insurance Subrogation Claims
Health insurance subrogation refers to the legal right of an insurance company, after payment of a loss, to recover money paid by that insurance company from the responsible party's insurance carrier. Accident victims may be required to reimburse their health insurance carrier if the victim was compensated by the other party’s liability insurance carrier. If you are required to reimburse your health insurance company or HMO, you may receive little or no compensation for your injuries. This would be grossly unfair. Eric’s team is very familiar with this area of law and is ready to fight for your rights to be fairly and adequately compensated for your injuries.
Long-Term Care Benefits
Many families and individuals are purchasing long-term care insurance to cover the expenses associated with private long-term convalescence. Because these policy premiums are usually paid over several years, policyholders have little or no time to seek other policies when an insurance company wrongfully denies coverage. Eric’s team is not afraid to take on these insurance companies when they have wrongfully denied you the rights that you have earned!
