Published by The Pellegrin Firm August 11, 2019
Living while receiving long-term disability benefits from an insurance company can feel stifling. If the insurance company is paying tens of thousands of dollars to a claimant yearly, it may find it cost effective to invest in surveillance – either through social media or in person – to find a reason to terminate benefits.
Published by The Pellegrin Firm August 8, 2019
On July 23, 2019, U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan in New Orleans affirmed a magistrate judge’s sanctions against State Farm Insurance for failure to follow court orders and failure to negotiate in good faith. The case arose out of a motor vehicle accident.
Published by The Pellegrin Firm August 7, 2019
Life insurance disputes are complicated, and beneficiaries will often find that insurance companies will try to find any excuse not to pay what the policy requires. However, life insurance companies must follow strict procedural rules, or they could find themselves having to pay the policy amount plus attorneys’ fees in court. On June 13, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans ruled on the appeal of a woman seeking payment on her husband’s life insurance policy.
In the recent case of Faciane v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, No. 18-30918, __F.3d__, 2019 WL 3334654 (5th Cir. July 25, 2019), the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit followed other federal courts of appeal and several district courts within the Fifth Circuit in finding that the time limit for challenging an ERISA LTD administrator’s benefit calculations in court begins upon notice of the benefit calculation.
Published by The Pellegrin Firm July 31, 2019 On May 8, 2019, the Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans upheld a trial court’s decision to grant summary judgment for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (“DOTD”) in the case of a motorcyclist suing the DOTD alleging an unreasonably dangerous intersection contributed to his injuries. The accident in question took …
Published by The Pellegrin Firm July 29, 2019
The relationship between Long-Term Disability benefits and Social Security Disability benefits creates a lot of confusion and concern among claimants. This relationship is the source of a great number of questions and frustrations.
Published by The Pellegrin Firm July 27, 2019
The new world of Uber and Lyft has given us great new cost-effective ways to get around the New Orleans area. Also, these rideshare services provide hundreds if not thousands of people with a secondary or primary income on a flexible schedule. However, Uber and Lyft vehicles are still exposed to the usual risks and liabilities of driving. An accident with or in an Uber or Lyft rideshare vehicle can cause temporary or permanent disability and possibly hundreds of thousands in losses.
The Jones Act provides maritime workers with special avenues of recovery and other special protections. In passing the Jones Act, Congress recognized that working on a vessel is an unusually dangerous job than can lead to serious disability and injury. This also means the courts are especially hesitant to enforce unfair releases of Jones Act rights.
On July 3, 2019, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles rendered judgement on a dispute over the status of riverboat casinos as “vessels.” This is important because the plaintiff, who sustained injuries while operating a scissor lift on a riverboat casino moored in Lake Charles, filed his suit under the Jones Act. The Jones Act provides …
Court in New Orleans finds plaintiff failed to timely exhaust administrative remedies in Joint and Survivor Benefit ERISA case.