http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/ Published by Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz & Associates, P.C. en-us 2010-07-13T08:07:47-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2010/07/court_orders_discovery_in_long_1.html The Eastern District of Michigan federal court recently granted my motion for discovery in a long term disability insurance ERISA case without requiring a predicate showing. In Back v Hartford I had submitted a limited number of questions to Hartford... ERISA Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2010-07-13T08:07:47-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2010/06/smda_partner_attends_acidisabi.html SMDA Partner, Patrick Derkacz, attended the 13th ACI National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance claims held in historic Boston last week. This seminar was two solid days of presentations and discussions with the countries leading Disability Insurance Litigation attorneys.... Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2010-06-29T08:07:06-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2010/05/michigan_supreme_court_justice_1.html Justice Robert Young is up for re-election in November. Each and every worker in the State of Michigan should remember his decision in the recent Alderman v. J.C. Development Communities case. On October 9, 2006, Randy Alderman was part of... Other Stuff Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2010-05-04T15:39:28-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2010/04/discovery_in_long_term_disabil.html For years, long term disability insurance claimant's were prevented from conducting even the most basic discovery. The court's having basically accepted the disability insurer's arguments that they could only examine the records that the disability insurer reviewed in making the... ERISA Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2010-04-02T09:30:03-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2010/04/which_long_term_disability_ins.html Just like other forms of insurance , your Long Term Disability Insurance is only as good as the Company providing it and the policy they sell. Every time I see a "Good Hands" commercial or a "like a good neighbor"... Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2010-04-01T11:47:24-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2009/12/smda_obtains_trucking_accident_1.html In addition to our work on Long Term Disability cases, Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz & Associates (SMDA) also handles personal injury cases. This is the story of one such case. Our client, James Hawthorne was rear ended by a semi-truck owned... Other Stuff Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2009-12-17T09:33:56-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2009/12/why_should_ltd_insurers_pay.html From the Insurance Companies perspective, the answer is simple- there is no reason for them to pay. My clients are universally surprised to learn that under ERISA the only thing you can sue for are the unpaid LTD benefits. There... ERISA Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2009-12-15T08:45:37-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2009/10/discovery_in_long_term_disabil_1.html Most Long Term Disability cases in our office are governed by ERISA as they are non-governmental employer provided benefits. The fact that they are ERISA claims is usually all bad for our clients as the law in this area has... ERISA Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2009-10-13T08:42:55-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2009/10/court_rejects_long_term_disabi.html The federal 8th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Long Term Disability Insurer's (Unum Life Insurance Company) claim denial in the case of Chronister v Unum Life. Citing an important change in the law since Metlife v Glenn the Court... Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2009-10-12T08:11:48-05:00 http://www.michiganlongtermdisabilityinsurancelawyer.com/2009/07/does_a_parents_life_have_value_1.html Recently, the new majority of 4 Michigan Supreme Court Justices upheld a decision by the Court of Appeals in Thorn v Mercy Memorial Hospital. In Thorn, a mother of young children died as a result of a medical error. When... Other Stuff Serafini, Michalowski, Derkacz 2009-07-22T08:50:26-05:00