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Disability Insurance Claims

Disabilty: Lawyers Fighting for Your Rights
Long-term disability insurance is designed to pay part of your income if you get so sick or injured that you can’t work. This can be extremely helpful for many people when you consider the following statistics:

• You have a one in 8 chance of becoming disabled for 90 days or more before age 65. To put that in perspective, the odds are one in 1,200 that your house will burn down.
  
• A study of 2,000 severely ill patients indicated that 29% lost their major source of income and 31% lost their life savings, even though 96% had health insurance.
  
• Here’s a scary thought. Nearly half of all mortgage foreclosures happen after someone becomes disabled.

So, you did the right thing. You bought disability insurance. You paid your premiums. Now you’re hurting…and the insurance company won’t pay.

Disability Coverage: Lawyer Explains What to Do When the Insurance Company Won’t Pay

The following information on disability coverage is provided by lawyer Fred Pritzker and his team at Pritzker | Ruohonen, a national personal injury law firm with offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Write an Appeal
First, look at your policy. There’s usually some kind of "elimination period," or waiting time before you can apply for your benefits.

If you apply after the elimination period, and you do not receive your benefits, check your policy again to see if you have to send a written appeal within a certain time frame. Sometimes you only have 15 days. You may be able to handle this situation without a disability lawyer.

If your claim was denied and the reason doesn’t make sense, or the insurance company won’t tell you why you’re not getting any benefits, contact a disability lawyer. You may need to go through arbitration, or file a lawsuit.

Disability Insurance Lawsuits
If the situation merits filing a disability insurance lawsuit, you will need to be represented by a disability coverage lawyer. Disability coverage lawyer Fred Pritzker and our team of disability lawyers at Pritzker | Ruohonen have had decades of experience fighting insurance companies, and they are good at it. Our lawyers at Pritzker | Ruohonen have obtained numerous settlements and verdicts in excess of $1,000,000 on behalf of injured clients. (The results of each case are based on the facts. The facts of most cases do not support a million-dollar recovery.)

We know how to get justice when an insurance company breaches a contract or acts in bad faith. The following are some of the possible legal claims against insurance companies:

1. Breach of Contract. With a breach of contract suit, you are saying that the insurance company did not live up to its end of the bargain. You suffered a disability that was covered by your insurance, and the insurance company refused to pay the benefits. Everybody focuses on the words of the policy in these cases. The insurance company may have the advantage because they drafted the policy. However, the "rules of construction" are on your side. Rules of construction require the courts to interpret ambiguous language in your favor. If you prevail, you can recover the value of your benefits and any incidental damages.
   
2. Bad Faith Claims. A bad faith claim says that the insurance company acted unreasonably. All insurance policies require that the insurance company act in good faith when reviewing a claim. If the insurance company did not perform an adequate investigation, or attempted to settle your claim for less than what it’s worth, you may have a viable bad faith claim and you can recover your benefits. If you can establish a bad faith claim, you may be awarded a disability settlement for "infliction of emotional distress and fraud" and receive compensation for punitive or exemplary damages, which can exceed the actual amount owed under the contract.
   
3. Statute of Limitations. You also need to be aware of the "statute of limitations." A civil lawsuit for breach of contract or bad faith must be filed within a certain time period after the insurance company makes its final denial of your claim. Once the statue of limitations expires, it may be difficult or impossible for you to protect your rights.

Disability Coverage: Lawyer and Free Consultation
Disability law is very complex and the stakes are high -- your economic future is at stake. At Pritzker | Ruohonen & Associates, P.A., we specialize in personal injury and insurance claims, including disability coverage. Lawyer Fred Pritzker has been recognized nationally for his legal excellence and dedication to his clients by being selected for inclusion in the 2005-2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Read more about personal injury lawyer Fred Pritzker.

Contact us for a free consultation. Call us toll-free at 1-888-377-8900, email us at info@pritzkerlaw.com, or fill in our online consultation form. We have the experience, the excellence, and the record of success you are looking for.

Pritzker | Ruohonen & Associates, P.A.
Plaza VII, Suite 2950
45 South Seventh Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402-1652

Telephone: 612-338-0202
Toll-Free: 1-888-377-8900
Fax: 612-338-0104
Email:info@pritzkerlaw.com

Pritzker | Ruohonen & Associates, P.A.: Minnesota personal injury lawyers with a national
reputation for excellence in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death.

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