Research conducted by the United States Census Bureau revealed that 6.3% of individuals in Los Angeles, CA under the age of 65 were living with a disability for the years 2014-2018. In California, employer-funded disability insurance policies (as well as those paid by the employee as part of a group benefits plan with the employer) may provide short term disability (STD) benefits and long term disability (LTD) insurance benefits. If you suffer from an illness or injury that prevents you from working, you may be eligible to receive such benefits.
A Los Angeles disability lawyer can help you get the benefits you deserve. If your condition lasts or is expected to last a period of 12 months or longer you may also be eligible to receive Social Security Disability benefits (also known as SSD or SSDI). Our practice areas include both long term disability and Social Security Disability services.
Los Angeles Long Term Disability, ERISA, and Disability Insurance Claims
Our job is to make the insurance company pay the disability benefits you are owed and maximize your recovery under your LTD policy. We understand that you are struggling to get by without your usual income and you cannot afford to pay for professional help upfront, so we never charge any attorney fees or costs unless we recover benefits for you.
Our Los Angeles, CA long term disability insurance lawyer and legal team can assist you with the following steps of the administrative appeals process:
- If your disability insurance benefits have been wrongfully denied or terminated, we can help prepare and file your administrative appeal with the insurance company in an effort to maximize the chances that your LTD claim will be approved. The process of preparing and filing an appeal includes:
- Obtaining medical evidence,
- Summarizing medical evidence,
- Obtaining statement(s) from your medical providers, and
- Obtaining your sworn statement about your medical conditions.
- If you have exhausted your administrative appeals with the disability insurance company, we may be able to file a lawsuit against the disability insurance company.
- Our firm does not typically handle STD cases. However, if your STD benefits have been denied and you have LTD coverage that may be impacted then we may be able to assist you with that claim as well.
- If you have been offered a lump sum settlement offer, we can help you evaluate the fairness of the offer and possibly negotiate for a higher settlement amount.
Our professional attorneys are familiar with the laws that govern long term disability benefits claims, such as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and will guide you through every step of the administrative appeals process. Whether you are disabled due to a personal injury or an illness, our attorneys will fight to recover the disability income benefits you deserve. We have experience handling claims with Cigna, Hartford, Lincoln, MetLife, Prudential, Standard, Unum, and many other major disability insurance companies.
Ortiz Law Firm Represents Los Angeles Long Term Disability Claimants
There is one question that we get all the time, and that is, “Can I hire you for my disability claim if I’m not in your local area?”
The answer is yes! Nick Ortiz has a bar law license in the state of California, so he can represent disability claimants at any court in the state of California. He and the experienced legal team at Ortiz Law Firm can represent individuals anywhere in the United States – in fact, anywhere in the world – and we’ll explain to you why.
Our law office is based primarily in Pensacola, Florida, but because most group plans are governed by ERISA, Nick Ortiz can handle a case anywhere in the United States. In fact, in the past few years, he has represented individuals from Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and even claimants around the world (prior clients have lived in Morocco and the Philippines, for example).
The reasons why Nick Ortiz can represent people anywhere in the state:
- He is admitted to every bar in the state of California, and
- Most LTD cases (not all, but most) are governed by a federal regulation called ERISA.
Under ERISA, you do not have the right to a jury trial, and – in most cases – you do not have the right to engage in extensive discovery. What that means is at the end of the day, most of the work is paper-driven, involves a lot of brief writing, and a lot of correspondence by mail. There are very few court appearances required, and as a result, we can handle a federal court case anywhere in the state. In terms of communicating with you, we use an electronic signature service for a lot of the correspondence, and then we e-mail and fax and communicate by phone, so everything can be done by mail, fax, and e-mail.
We evaluate each case on a case-by-case basis. Nick Ortiz can either be admitted to your local federal court by what we would call a pro hac vice admission, or he can file a lawsuit here in the state of Florida. Again, what we do is evaluate each case on a case-by-case basis.
Los Angeles Courts, Government, and Department of Insurance Information
Central District of California | United States District Court
Courts of Appeal – DCA – California Courts
Official government website for the State of California
California Department of Insurance
Central District of California Case Summaries
Court Holds That MetLife Undermined the ERISA Process
Plaintiff Refused to Follow Recommended Treatment Plan
Court Upholds Denial Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Claim
Court Rules That The Mental Illness Limitation Doesn’t Apply
Los Angeles Social Security Disability Claims
To qualify for Social Security Disability benefits you must be unable to work as a result of your medical condition for 12 months or longer. Coping with a disabling medical condition or injury is difficult enough without having to fight for your benefits, so let a Los Angeles Social Security Disability attorney fight for you. There are thousands of lawyers to chose from, but only a small percentage are Board Certified Social Security Disability lawyers that focus their practice on fighting for disability benefits.
A Social Security Disability attorney will only get paid if your claim is approved, so there is no risk in hiring associated with hiring a Social Security Disability lawyer. Although our office is based in Pensacola, we assist California Social Security Disability claimants from the initial application process through a disability hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. Nick Ortiz has handled thousands of disability claims with the Social Security Administration.
Los Angeles Social Security Administration Locations and Resources
SSA Customer Service Phone Number: 1 (800) 772-1213
Directions to the Los Angeles, CA Social Security Administration Office
Social Security Administration website
Schedule a Free Case Evaluation with a Los Angeles Disability Lawyer
The long and short of it is you should not allow our geographic location to limit your contacting us to see what we can do to help you get the benefits you deserve. We represent disability claimants in Los Angeles, CA and we offer a free consultation for individuals whose LTD benefits claims have been wrongfully denied or terminated. We also offer a free consultation for individuals seeking Social Security Disability benefits. If you’re still undecided we encourage you to check out our many reviews from past clients. You can also browse the free resources available for download on our website.
Our law office has recovered millions in benefits for our clients. If you’re in Los Angeles, CA., and are unable to work due to an illness or personal injury, then please call our law office right away at (866) 853-7210 to discuss disability law and your legal rights. You can also use the contact form on this page to request a free case evaluation. We review each claim on a case-by-case basis, regardless of your location, and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your claim with you.