John Tucker manages Tucker & Ludin, P.A.'s Disability Insurance practice team. Mr. Tucker has been a Disability Attorney for over 16 years, and concentrates his practice on different types of disability benefits claims, including Long Term Disability Insurance, Employee Benefits that provide disability coverage under the federal ERISA law (including disability and pension plans), and individual Disability Insurance policies.
Disability Insurance is designed to protect you in the unfortunate event that you are not able to work due to an injury or sickness. No one expects to experience a disability, but it is actually rather common. In fact, an April 1996 edition of Money magazine indicated that “4 out of 10 workers will become disabled for more than 90 days at some point in their working lives.” Forty percent! The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research states on its website that "17.2 million people, or 9.9% of the 1998 working-age U.S. population (16-64 years old)" have a disability that prevents or limits their ability to work. These are staggering figures, and many people do not realize how many disability insurance claims are denied.
Disability Insurance (also known as Income Replacement Insurance) falls into two categories. You can often buy this coverage through work. These policies are covered by a federal law known as ERISA. However, many people buy Disability coverage on their own, outside of work. These are individual insurance policies (even if they are bought from a professional group or through some organization to which you belong, like AAA, AARP, etc.), and they are not subject to ERISA. Instead, these individual insurance policies are covered by state law, and are often called "First Party" cases.
Other types of individual disability insurance policies are covered by state law as well. For example, you may have credit disability (on your mortgage, car loan, or credit cards) which makes payments while you are disabled.
Disability Attorney John Tucker handles all types of disability insurance and ERISA disability benefit claims and litigation. The vast majority of our cases involve Disability Insurance, and we have helped thousands of people that have found themselves out of work because of an illness or injury. Unable to work, yet often unable to get paid by the disability insurance company who claims they are not really disabled, our clients are often at the end of their rope trying to make ends meet. According to a March 1, 2007 article from UPI, over half of all U.S. workers would not be able to pay their bills (mortgage, utilities, food, etc.) if they developed a disabling condition that prevented them from working. Tucker & Ludin represents individuals who have significant impairments that will prevent them from working.
Because of our experience with these types of problems, we understand what it is like for someone to lose their income. We know financial hardship can cause you to lose your savings, your home, and sometimes the stress can break up your family. We do what we can to get your claim resolved as soon as we can without sacrificing your legal rights.
Many of these policies require that you give immediate notice to the insurance company if you become disabled. Usually, you have anywhere from 24 hours to 30 days to give notice. Rarely, you may be able to increase this notice period, but that is usually the case only when you are so disabled that you could not physically or mentally submit notice. You should know that a phone call is not always sufficient, and it is a good idea to send a letter (by certified mail, return receipt request or overnight delivery) to give notice. We suggest you contact your insurance company or plan administrator as soon as possible to avoid hurting your claim.
If you believe we can be of assistance in helping you with the denial of any type of disability claim, please contact us. The best time to call is before you file your application for insurance benefits, but we often can still help even after you have received a denial from the insurance company or plan administrator. We offer a free initial consultation and various attorney fee options to suit your needs should you choose to hire us. You owe it to yourself to find out your options, and understand what we can do to help you. You have lost your livelihood. You can't afford to lose your claim.
