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Law Office of Shawn E. McDermott, LLC

ERISA Long-Term Disability Litigation in Colorado

After their ERISA administrative appeal is denied, some people elect to pursue litigation in order to recover their ERISA long-term disability benefits. Denver, Colorado ERISA attorney Shawn E. McDermott has helped many clients successfully pursue ERISA litigation. He has prepared this list of general guidelines to introduce Colorado residents to their rights under the law; however, nothing can replace the one-on-one advice of an experienced ERISA attorney. Please contact Shawn E. McDermott today to learn more about ERISA long-term disability benefits litigation in Colorado.

Disability Statistics

The risk of disability may be greater than you think. Recent statistics have shown:

  • On the average, about 2,340 disabling injuries occur every hour during the year (National Safety Counsel, Injury Facts, 2001).
  • About 30 percent of Americans from ages 35-65 will suffer a disability for at least 90 days (Health Insurance Association of America, The New York Times, February 2000).
  • About one in seven Americans can expect to become disabled for five or more years (Health Insurance Association of America, The New York Times, February 2000).

Short-term and long-term disability insurance is intended as a solution if you become sick and cannot work. Do not let your insurance company deny you your rightful claim to these benefits.

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Guidelines on ERISA Long-Term Disability Litigation

Before beginning ERISA long-term disability litigation, it helps to be familiar with a few of the regulations that govern such suits:

  • You have the right to sue for benefits in state court or federal court, although the judge will "remove" your case to federal court if you file in state court.
  • Your lawsuit is a claim for ERISA benefits that were wrongfully denied. You are only entitled to recover the amount of the past-due benefits and, usually, interest on the withheld benefits. You cannot make a claim for bad faith breach of insurance contract as is typically asserted in cases not governed by ERISA.
  • If your ERISA litigation is successful, your attorney's fees might be awarded to you by the court.
  • You are not entitled to a jury trial. A judge will make all determinations.
  • Regardless of the insurance company's conduct in denying your ERISA long-term disability claim, you are not entitled to punitive damages, nor damages for pain and suffering.
  • One of the most critical issues is what standard of review the courts will apply. In ERISA litigation, it is necessary for the parties to agree on, or the court to determine, which standard of review the court will apply to the claim administrator's decision to deny ERISA long-term disability or another type of benefits. There are two types of review a court may use, depending on the language found in the plan document: (1) de novo, in which no weight is given to the administrator's decision; and (2) abuse of discretion (also called "arbitrary and capricious"). In this context, The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals treats the terms "abuse of discretion" and "arbitrary and capricious" as interchangeable.
  • Even if the plan gives the administrator discretion, the court will apply a less deferential review if it can be proven that the administrator is working under a conflict of interest.
  • You should assume you cannot add any evidence to the administrative record during the course of litigation. The most crucial step in your claim is properly submitting an administrative appeal.

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Learn More about ERISA

To learn more about this area of the law, please explore the following pages:

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Begin Your ERISA Long-Term Disability Claim

ERISA long-term disability is a specialized area of the law governed by many complex rules. The Law Office of Shawn E. McDermott is one of the few in Colorado that assists applicants with all aspects of filing ERISA claims and appeals; we also handle plaintiffs' ERISA benefits litigation.

If your ERISA benefits appeal has been denied and you are considering pursuing litigation in court, please contact our ERISA attorney today for an honest review of your case. One of the most experienced lawyers in ERISA long-term disability litigation, Shawn is conveniently based in Denver, Colorado to serve people from throughout the state.

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To learn more about ERISA long-term disability litigation in Colorado, please contact experienced ERISA attorney Shawn E. McDermott.






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Law Office of
Shawn E. McDermott, LLC
The Riverpoint Building
2300 15th Street, Suite 200
Denver, Colorado 80202
Phone: 866-794-9327
Fax: 303-964-1900
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Shawn McDermott is also Of Counsel to the McDermott Law Firm in Canon City, which is owned and operated by John A. McDermott.