Ortiz Law Firm is dedicated to helping people recover the disability benefits they deserve. We handle group Long Term Disability (LTD) claims, individual disability insurance policy claims, ERISA disability claims, and Social Security Disability claims.

You are here: Home / Disability Law Blog

Disability Law Blog

Denney v. Unum – Court Remands Unum LTD Claim For Further Review

Cara R. Denney (“Denney”) was an employee of Wagner Equipment Company (“Wagner”) where she was a Computer and Technology Instructor.  Her job duties “required extensive computer use” and “the ability to instruct employees on the use of various computer systems.” She was also required to travel up to fifty percent of the time, be able to …

Denney v. Unum – Court Remands Unum LTD Claim For Further ReviewRead More

Krysztofiak v. Boston Mutual – Court Rules Clinical Coordinator Is Entitled To LTD Benefits

Dana Krysztofiak (“Krysztofiak”) works as a registered nurse, but was previously a Clinical Coordination Manager for the company HomeCare Maryland, LLC. In 2016, Krysztofiak ceased working because of problems with fibromyalgia and psoriatic arthritis. She then filed for long-term disability benefits with Boston Mutual Life Insurance Co. (“Boston Mutual”). According to the language of the policy: Further, payments only …

Krysztofiak v. Boston Mutual – Court Rules Clinical Coordinator Is Entitled To LTD BenefitsRead More

Pearson-Rhoads v. Aetna – Court Rejects Treating Physician’s Opinion In Favor Of Paper Review

In Pearson-Rhoads v. Aetna Life Insurance Company, the plaintiff sued for the payment of long-term disability insurance benefits from the insurer of her ERISA governed plan, Aetna Life Insurance Company. The plaintiff made numerous arguments.  All were rejected by the court. Of particular note here is the plaintiff’s argument that Aetna abused its discretion by …

Pearson-Rhoads v. Aetna – Court Rejects Treating Physician’s Opinion In Favor Of Paper ReviewRead More

Faciane v. Sun Life – Court Rules In Favor Of Sun Life In LTD Underpayment Case

In Faciane vs. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, the claimant received a monthly benefit for long-term disability pursuant to an ERISA-regulated group insurance policy. The group policy covered employees of Capital One Financial Corporation. He alleged that Sun Life had been underpaying him for years. The material facts of the case were not in dispute. …

Faciane v. Sun Life – Court Rules In Favor Of Sun Life In LTD Underpayment CaseRead More

Carter v. Aetna – Court Rules Plaintiff Did Not Meet Burden Of Proof

Colon Carter (“Carter”) worked as an estimating analyst for Bath Iron Works (“BIW”), a subsidiary of General Dynamics. His job duties included “developing cost proposals for new Navy and commercial work; developing and maintaining proposal support documents and checklists; creating financial models; maintaining company baselines for all Programs; assisting management with department staffing plans; and …

Carter v. Aetna – Court Rules Plaintiff Did Not Meet Burden Of ProofRead More

Warner v. Unum – A Claimant Friendly ERISA Federal Court Decision

The Court concluded that Warner’s motion must be granted because Unum abused its discretion in denying her claim without substantively explaining its rejection of her functional capacity evaluation and relying exclusively on the absence of objective tests confirming her subjective symptoms when denying her claim.

Warner v. Unum – A Claimant Friendly ERISA Federal Court DecisionRead More

Christmas v. Sun Life – Court Finds Evidence Clearly Supports Sun Life’s Decision

The case Meghan Christmas v. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada was decided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on December 13, 2018. In this case, Meghan Christmas (“Christmas”), a Manager of Global Solutions Integration for ISGN Corporation, sought long-term disability (“LTD”) benefits from Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (“Sun Life”). Between …

Christmas v. Sun Life – Court Finds Evidence Clearly Supports Sun Life’s DecisionRead More

Dawson v. LINA – Court Rules Plaintiff Didn’t Provide Enough Objective Evidence

Here, Chernequa Dawson (“Dawson”) worked as a Care Transition Coordination (“CTC”) Nurse Care Manager and was employed by Cigna Corporation (“Cigna”). Through her employment with Cigna, she was covered under both a short-term and long-term disability plan. For these plans, Cigna pays the short-term disability plan benefits, while Life Insurance Company of North America (“LINA”) pays for long-term …

Dawson v. LINA – Court Rules Plaintiff Didn’t Provide Enough Objective EvidenceRead More