Multiple Disability Benefits

Friday, June 13th, 2008

It is not uncommon for a person to be entitled to more than one type of disability benefit. Facts can be established in one context that can have important ramifications in connection with related disability claims. A perfect example involves a client who has claims under a group long term disability (“LTD”) plan and New York State Disability Law (“DBL”).

Four months after the claimant stopped working on the Stock Exchange because of his medical condition, he made an attempt to return to work that lasted eight days. The LTD carrier, Unum, argued that it was entitled to withhold four months of benefits on the grounds that the claimant supposedly resumed working for more than 30 days. Unum insisted that the claimant worked for more than 30 days even after being provided with a letter from the Stock Exchange proving that the claimant only accessed the building for eight days.

Unum was also the insurance company that was responsible for paying the claimant’s DBL benefits. In connection with the DBL claim, another department at Unum admitted that the claimant had only resumed working for 8 days. Confronted with its own company’s admission Unum’s LTD department was forced to concede that the claimant did not resume working for over 30 days, and finally agreed not to withhold the extra four months of benefits.

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