Donachie v. Liberty Life Assur. Co.

In this 2014 ERISA case, a claimaint suffering from anxiety due to the noise from a prosthetic valve with each beat of his heart after surgery that replaced his aortic valve, was erroneously denied long term disability benefits because the plan administrator ignored substantial evidence for the claimant’s treating physicians that he was incapable of pe3rforming his current occupation, while failing to offer any reliable contrary evidence.

In denying the claimaint’s attorneys’ fees, the district court abused its discretion because it inadequately addressed two important fee factors and erred in considering the absence of bad faith on the part of the administrator as the most salient fee factor; fees should have been awarded since they furthered the policy interest in vindicating the rights secured by ERISA.

The lower court’s decision was affirmed in part and vacated and remanded in part.

If you need assistance navigating your claim for short term or long term disability benefits under ERISA, or it is time to sue the insurance company, please do not hesitate to give Cody Allison & Associates, PLLC a call (844) LTD-CODY, (615) 234-6000. or send us an e-mail Cody@codyallison.com.  We provide representation nationwide and have successfully sued all the major insurance companies in many states. Our headquarters are located in Nashville, Tennessee.  We offer a free consultation and would love to speak with you.