Frankel & Newfield: National Disability Lawyers

• Initial Claim Development and Short-Term disability claims;
• In-Claim Support and Monitoring;
• Appeals of ERISA and non-ERISA Disability Denials or Terminations;
• Litigation of ERISA and non-ERISA Disability claims; and
• Settlement of Disputed and non-Disputed ERISA and non-ERISA claims.

In many instances, we meet with clients who are sick and determining what their rights are and what their potential obligations may be under either a Group Long-Term Disability Claim (often governed by the federal law ERISA), or through a private, individually paid disability insurance policy.

In some cases, we plan the timing issues, which with some medical professionals might include discussions of the sale of the practice which they have built up over many years of hard work.

Our disability lawyers often help guide clients in the claim process, and this occurs usually quite early after filing the claim on their own (if they did not utilize us to navigate the initial submission). Here, we will interface with the insurance company to help facilitate the claim process, while guiding the client as to how to develop the support to prove the impairment.

Whether it is working with the treating doctor(s), medical or vocational experts, or the employer as appropriate, we help to develop the support needed for a claim approval. Once approved, we often monitor our clients' claims, as the "face of the claim" – to insulate our clients from direct and often stressful contact with the insurance company. Our work in these situations offers clients significant protection and stress by removal from the interactions with the disability insurance company and its representatives.

This is often the most critical time for a claimant, and many claimants fail to understand appreciate the significance of this process – when ERISA governs a denied or terminated claim.

See our ERISA page for a fuller discussion.

When client appeals are not successful in returning them to claim status, we are then forced to sue the insurance company to pursue relief from the Federal Courts. We litigate these matters in courts throughout the country on behalf of our clients, often travelling to advocate in the most favorable forum available to our clients.

Clients often come to us with an offer presented by insurance company, typically on a claim that has been paid for some period of time, and a buyout offer has been presented. We can often help to enhance the offer from the insurance company, and will discuss issues and strategies concerning the offer and its impact.

Our disability lawyers usually meet clients during one of the worst times in their lives. Their health and well-being have been altered, permanently, and they are facing an entirely new set of life circumstances. It's hard to know what to do first. Add to that the idea of fighting the insurance company and they are understandably overwhelmed.

One thing we like to make sure our clients clearly understand: the disability company's denial or termination of your claim often has nothing to do with the legitimacy of your claim – but often with a numbers crunch in a never-ending quest for corporate profit. We have seen insurance companies deny claims from people who were so clearly so unable to function that it was outrageous that their claim was denied – but the insurance company does not always take that into account.

This is what we at Frankel & Newfield do for our clients. We take away the mental burden and stress so that you don't have to engage with the insurance company and their many representatives. Instead, you can focus on your health and potential recovery. We handle the phone calls, the arguments, the paperwork, online or on paper, medical records, financial records, etc.

It is as if the claimant gives us a giant box of paper that they have been carrying from room to room with no place to land, and we take that box from them.