when to get help frim erisa attorney

When an employee is injured or ill, and they have to be on long-term disability, this is when an attorney that specializes in ERISA law can offer assistance. When to Call an ERISA Attorney The law is designed to protect employees, but it can be difficult to navigate the law on your own.

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Why hire our lawyer for ERISA?

At our law firm, our lawyers help disabled employees throughout the nation to get the benefits related to disability that they are entitled to. We have a vault of information and pages that will help you to gain a clear knowledge regarding ERISA law.

Are there any exceptions to the ERISA law?

There are a few exceptions when you are receiving insurance through an employer. ERISA — the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, is the actual governing force when you are trying to get these employee benefit claims.

What is ERISA and how does it affect long-term disability?

ERISA — the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, is the actual governing force when you are trying to get these employee benefit claims. In the case that you are struggling to obtain the long- term disability benefits you deserve, ERISA explains the process for starting a claim.

What is ERISA counsel?

As an ERISA attorney, your responsibilities are to understand how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) impacts benefits for employees and help your clients remain in compliance with ERISA and related laws and regulations.

How do I file an ERISA lawsuit?

Filing A Lawsuit With an ERISA case, a lawsuit is usually initiated by filing a summons and a complaint in the United States District Court. Once a suit is instituted, the defendant is allowed between 21 to 42 days within which to file an answer and any counterclaims with the court.

What are ERISA lawsuits?

ERISA litigation refers to the process of taking legal action involving a pension, disability, or health benefit plan governed by ERISA. Most ERISA litigation is filed by an employee or former employee against their employer or insurance company.

What does ERISA stand for?

Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established retirement and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans.

Who can you sue under ERISA?

Who can sue under ERISA? By statute, only four classes of plaintiffs may sue under ERISA: plan participants, plan beneficiaries, the Secretary of Labor, and plan fiduciaries. Who can be sued for a denial of benefits under an ERISA plan? In general, the only proper defendant is the plan itself.

What is an ERISA violation?

Under ERISA, anyone who exercises discretionary authority over plan assets or plan management has a fiduciary duty toward the plan's participants. As a result, fiduciaries must run the plan solely for the benefit of its participants, and failure to do so is an ERISA violation.

Are punitive damages available under ERISA?

Punitive Damages and ERISA State Law Preemption However, ERISA is a federal law that does not allow punitive damages.

How do you bring a civil action under section 502 of ERISA?

In a § 502(a)(1)(B) claim, a plaintiff must show that: (1) the plaintiff properly made a claim for benefits; (2) the plaintiff exhausted the plan's administrative appeals pro- cess; (3) the plaintiff is entitled to a particular benefit under the plan's terms; and (4) the plaintiff was denied that benefit.

What is a claim for benefits under ERISA?

The regulations under ERISA define a claim for benefits as a request for a plan benefit or benefits made by a claimant in accordance with a plan's reasonable procedure for filing benefit claims. See 29 C.F.R. § 2560.503-1(e). All plans are required to have reasonable procedures for filing benefit claims.

How does ERISA protect an employee?

ERISA protects the interests of employee benefit plan participants and their beneficiaries. It requires plan sponsors to provide plan information to participants. It establishes standards of conduct for plan managers and other fiduciaries.

Who is exempt from ERISA?

The ERISA exemptions that do exist include: Insurance policies and benefits issued by government employers or entities. This includes local government, city government, state government and the federal government. If you work for the government in any capacity, your pension and benefits are likely not covered by ERISA.

What are examples of ERISA plans?

Examples of ERISA Health and Retirement Plans Welfare benefit plans, including medical, dental, life insurance, apprenticeship and training, scholarship funds, severance pay, and disability insurance. Pension plans, profit-sharing plans, stock bonus plans, money purchase plans, and 401(k) plans.

Are all 401k plans subject to ERISA?

Key Takeaways. Most employer-sponsored plans, such as a 401(k), fall under ERISA. Government employee plans and IRAs do not. ERISA was enacted in the 1970s to protect the retirement income of workers in the private sector.

What is the difference between ERISA and non-ERISA plans?

non-ERISA includes the employer's involvement. In an ERISA plan, an employer chooses the investment options, controls the deposit and timing of employee contributions and may also provide an employer matching contribution. In a non-ERISA plan, an employer is not involved except in compliance activities.

What is ERISA insurance coverage?

An ERISA fidelity bond is a type of insurance that protects the plan against losses caused by acts of fraud or dishonesty. Fraud or dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, larceny, theft, embezzlement, forgery, misappropriation, wrongful abstraction, wrongful conversion, willful misapplication, and other acts.

How do you tell if a health insurance plan is ERISA?

The easiest way to find out whether you are enrolled in a self-funded ERISA plan or whether you are enrolled directly in the state-regulated HMO or insurance company is to ask your employer. At the time of this writing, Congress was considering adding consumer protections and mandated benefits to ERISA plans.

What does an ERISA attorney do?

Although there are many attorneys in the U.S., relatively few of them practice extensively in the area of ERISA. And many of those who do practice...

How can an ERISA attorney help me?

Following a claim denial under an employer-sponsored insurance plan, it can be difficult to determine what to do next. Unfortunately, dealing with...

When should you contact an ERISA claims attorney?

When you file a legal action against your insurer for denying a legitimate claim, you may be entitled to multiple types of relief. Depending on the...

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Do ERISA attorneys get respect?

Unlike Rodney Dangerfield, ERISA attorneys do get respect. However, quite a few people including plan sponsors and retirement plan financial advisors have no idea what we actually do. We all come in different sizes, different shapes, and different specialties, but our concern is the workings of retirement plans. ERISA attorneys are a great resource for the plan sponsor and other retirement plan providers, they just may not know when. They may need them so this article is about when you may need the services of an ERISA attorney.

What are the situations where an ERISA attorney might assist you?

Other situations in which an ERISA attorney might assist you include when you: believe your retirement benefits were incorrectly calculated; were offered a severance benefit and are not certain if you are forfeiting other important benefits or rights by accepting it; were divorced and have rights to your ex-spouse’s retirement benefits ...

How much does an ERISA attorney charge?

ERISA attorneys in larger cities, for example, may charge as much as $500 to $650 per hour, whereas in smaller metropolitan areas the hourly rate may be in the $285 to $350 range.

What to do if your ERISA is denied?

Where a benefit claim has been denied, your ERISA attorney may review the plan’s decision, and other relevant records, and draft an appeal letter with supporting evidence arguing that the benefit denial should be overturned and benefits granted or reinstated. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the attorney may bring an action in federal court asking the court to decide if the plan administrator’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious,” and requesting that the benefits be granted and attorney’s fees and costs awarded to the participant.

What is ERISA protection?

Further, ERISA provides many protections for participants and beneficiaries, often in the form of mandatory disclosures and claims procedures that the plan must follow. ERISA also provides participants and beneficiaries with the right to bring a civil suit in federal court and, if successful, the right to attorney’s fees and costs related to the litigation.

How long is McKain Law consultation?

If you have a question related to your employee benefits, contact McKain Law to see if we can assist you. We provide 30-minute and 60-minute initial consultations at a 50% discounted rate.

Why was my early pension suspended?

were drawing an early pension under a union plan, but your benefits were suspended because you allegedly work in a related trade contrary to plan rules; were receiving disability benefits and the plan suddenly decided you are no longer disabled and terminated your benefit payments;

Why is it important to appeal a plan administrator's decision?

It is critical that your appeal is strong and based on objective evidence because, if your appeal is denied, your recourse at that point is typically a federal court action, where the court in most cases will review the same records that were provided to the plan administrator.

How much time do you have to appeal your denial?

Your plan will tell you what the deadlines are to appeal; some plans specify 60 days while most plans allow 180 days to appeal the denial. Some plans allow two appeals.

How to request a copy of a long term disability policy?

Depending on the size of your company, the request may go through the Human Resources department or simply though an administrative office . Make it clear that the copy you are requesting is the complete long term disability plan, not a summary description of the policy.

Can you file a lawsuit against an employer for ERISA?

ERISA law requires that, before you can file a lawsuit, you must appeal the denial internally with the insurance company, in accordance with the language of your plan.

What is Erisa law?

So what is ERISA? The law establishes guidelines and requirements for employers, trustees, service providers, and benefit plan managers. It is provided by an employer and restricts state laws designed to prevent the insurance companies from unacceptably acting also limiting actions of a policyholder when challenging the insurance company’s denial of benefits.

What is ERISA for long term disability?

ERISA — the Employee Retirement Income Security Act , is the actual governing force when you are trying to get these employee benefit claims. In the case that you are struggling to obtain the long- term disability benefits you deserve, ERISA explains the process for starting a claim. Our National ERISA attorneys at the offices ...

When do we sue insurance companies?

We sue insurance companies when they intentionally deny or delay valid claims to avoid honoring their policies.

Can you get punitive damages for ERISA?

Seeking punitive damages to persuade the insurance companies to handle policyholders justly is something our law firm works very hard to accomplish on top of helping them gain complete compensation for ERISA delayed or denied claims. Contact our National ERISA lawyers right away if your insurance company is not being reasonable and denying your claim or delaying it or if they are simply failing to defend you.

Who handles ERISA cases?

At Eric Buchanan and Associates, PLLC, our team has handled many ERISA cases, and is very familiar with ERISA’s special rules. Eric Buchanan regularly teaches other attorneys about ERISA, and how it works, and our team has successfully appealed ERISA cases and litigated ERISA cases in court. Also, in many ERISA benefits cases, we can help someone appeal a case properly without charging any up-front fee. Instead, in many cases, we don’t charge a fee unless our client recovers benefits or settles his or her claim.

What is the rule for ERISA?

One of the special rules about ERISA cases is that the person applying benefits must get all the information in to support his or her case before the insurance company of plan makes a final decision; otherwise, that information will not be considered by a court later on, if the claim is denied.

What is ERISA insurance?

Insurance and other benefits provided at work usually fall under a federal law called The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or “ERISA.”. ERISA covers two general categories of benefits, pension benefits and welfare benefits. Welfare benefits include almost all insurance policies offered through work, ...

Who knows the rules of ERISA?

ERISA is a complicated area of the law, where the insurance companies, unions, and employers know the rules. You need attorneys on your side who know the ERISA rules, and know what rights you have under ERISA.

Does ERISA cover pensions?

Pension benefits include not only ordinary retirement benefits, but some pensions provide for benefits on account of disability or death. ERISA applies whether the benefits are provided through an insurance policy or a plan funded by the employer’s own assets.