December 2009 Archives

Our client, a Global Product Manager with a large international bank, suffers from a painful orthopedic condition that makes it impossible for him to perform in his job. Hartford went after his disability insurance benefits on several fronts, and we fought back and won. They started with a peer review, where an outside company hired […]

In the field of disability insurance, a trend that has seen a tremendous surge has been the insurance companies’ utilization of Functional Capacity Evaluations (“FCE’s”). This trend has caught a number of unsuspecting claimants in a web that has tangled their ability to continue receiving their disability payments. Thankfully, some courts are beginning to see […]

The holidays are a time of joy and celebration. But if an injury or illness has made it impossible for you to work,

Despite acknowledging that the abuse of discretion standard of review is quite deferential to plan administrators, a court has determined that Harvard’s termination of benefits was an abuse of discretion. The Court found the administrator improperly rejected the panoply of supporting physicians, and that the only medical opinions that were unfavorable to the claimant were […]

The impact that the twin forces of a deep recession and an aging boomer population is having on increasing disability claims across the country is no news to Frankel & Newfield. The phone calls and emails received in our office over the last six months are from people between a rock and a hard place. […]

Despite bringing in one of the insurance industry’s big guns for hire – a doctor whose practice is more focused on helping insurance companies keep a healthy bottom line than with patient care – Frankel & Newfield has won an ERISA appeal for yet another client. The Prudential disability insurance policyholder was a Vice President […]

Reality TV wanna-be’s seem to be everywhere lately, taking their search for fame and fortune beyond the bounds of common sense. An interior designer from California appeared on a home improvement show while collecting disability insurance. Sadly for him, an employee for the insurance company was a big fan of the show. He was convicted […]