Turkheimer & Hadden

Getting What You Are Owed from Your Employer

Most employer-provided life insurance and short- and long-term disability insurance programs are governed by a federal act known as ERISA - the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. While ERISA provides certain safeguards to employee life and disability insurance benefits, its provisions have made successful challenges to insurance denials increasingly difficult, and grant employers and their insurers with a high degree of discretion in denying those insurance claims. For example, the Act takes away the employee's right to trial by jury, requires lawsuits seeking benefits to be filed in federal court, and requires appeals of an employer or insurer's denial of claims to be brought within a shorter period of time than would be required under ordinary insurance contract law.
ERISA insurance law is filled with procedural and substantive legal technicalities that can prove fatal to a life insurance or disability claim if overlooked. Therefore, it is important to contact an attorney well-versed in ERISA law as soon as possible when you learn that a claim has been or could be denied. Attorney John Hadden has represented numerous life and disability insurance carriers and has the experience necessary to help you achieve the best possible outcome for your claim.