Gilberts ERISA Lawyers

ERISA Attorneys Gilberts

If you find yourself a situation that requires you to apply for ERISA long term disability benefits, you will most likely find out how challenging the process can be. Any mistakes or accidental omissions you might make in the process could completely jeopardize your application, leaving you with a denial of benefits and no way to pay your basic household bills.

Understanding Common ERISA Benefit Application Mistakes

At Bartolic Law, we have been helping clients in Gilberts obtain the ERISA benefits they deserved for over a decade now. Over the years, we have worked to help fix many different mistakes that our clients made when they first applied for their ERISA benefits. We believe in educating the public on everything to do with ERISA rules, regulations, and benefits. With that said, we have found that it is crucial for applicants to understand some of the common mistakes we have seen people make when applying for ERISA benefits.

We hope that knowing these common mistakes will help you avoid making the same mistakes on your own application. While you can certainly apply for your ERISA benefits on your own, we want to stress the importance of having a knowledgeable Gilberts ERISA attorney handle your claim to ensure that no mistakes are made and to fight any possible denials.

If you still want to apply on your own, keep the following common mistakes in mind:

• Relying on Employer’s Opinion – Even if your employer thinks your inability to work makes you eligible for ERISA benefits, the insurance company may feel differently. In fact, your employer’s opinion does not weigh into your ERISA case at all. The insurance company will need to see sufficient evidence to prove that you are too disabled to work in order to approve your ERISA benefits.
• Relying on Human Resources Department – Your Human Resources Department personnel may have the best intentions, but that does not mean that they have the training that is required to interpret insurance policies. An ERISA attorney is your best bet for answers about your employer’s insurance policy.
• Participating in Activities Against Medical Advice – If your physician tells you not to participate in specific activities, you should heed that advice. Because insurance companies do everything they can to deny claims, it is not out of the ordinary for them to watch the activities of an ERISA applicant. If you do anything against medical advice, it may look like you are trying to fraudulently obtain benefits.
• Relying on the Insurance Company’s Attorneys to Help You File for Social Security Disability Benefits – Generally, those who receive ERISA benefits are required to file for Social Security Disability benefits. Often, the insurance company’s attorneys will offer to file this claim for you. Beware that the manner that they file your Social Security disability claim could affect your long term disability claim, and it may even get it denied.

Get an Experienced ERISA Attorney

You also do not want to enlist the assistance of an attorney who is not experienced with ERISA cases. Because ERISA rules and regulations are complex, you need someone who is extremely familiar with the evidence that is required or evidence that is allowed in appeals, the strict deadlines, and other important aspects of the ERISA application and appeals process. If you need or want assistance, contact a Gilberts ERISA attorney today at Michael Bartolic, LLP (510) 992-6130 for a free evaluation of your case.