No Fee Unless Your Benefits Get Paid (800) 898-7299
No Fee Unless Your Benefits Get Paid (800) 898-7299
Nearly
$1 Billion
In Denied Insurance Benefits Recovered by Frank N. Darras and his Firms
$1 Billion
In Denied Insurance Benefits Recovered by Frank N. Darras and his Firms
We have fought and earned the respect of every insurance carrier and their army of lawyers because they know we passionately believe in our clients. Our clients will not be bullied by billion dollar insurance companies.
Nearly
$1 Billion
In Denied Insurance Benefits Recovered by Frank N. Darras and his Firms
$1 Billion
In Denied Insurance Benefits Recovered by Frank N. Darras and his Firms
We have fought and earned the respect of every insurance carrier and their army of lawyers because they know we passionately believe in our clients. Our clients will not be bullied by billion dollar insurance companies.
Top Disability Lawyer in America
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Top Disability Lawyer in America
▶ Watch Our Firm Video
More Than 100 Years of Disability Insurance, Claims, Administrative, and Litigation Experience.
Experienced and Top-Rated National Disability Lawyers
Led by the top disability lawyer in America, founding partner Frank N. Darras, the legal team at DarrasLaw spends every day extending a helping hand to the disabled and the disadvantaged. DarrasLaw brings more than 100 years of insurance industry claims and experience in hard-fought litigation to individual disability insurance, long-term care insurance, and long-term disability cases. Our attorneys have recovered a lifetime total of nearly $1 Billion in wrongfully denied insurance benefits, stopping the insurance industry from trampling those that they should be protecting.
If you have recently become disabled and need help filing your claim, or if you have already been delayed or unreasonably denied by your disability insurer, our expert lawyers are here to make a difference.
Helping the disabled from coast to coast
DarrasLaw resolves more cases in a year than many disability insurance firms handle in their lifetime. We represent people with disabling conditions of all kinds and with claims of all sizes. Our clients receive personal attention and a singular focus; your case is our priority. We have taken on every major disability insurance company. While we think our stellar results speak for themselves, we’re happy to have testimonials from our satisfied clients.
Disability Tips
Articles
Awards
Frank N. Darras was recognized as one of the Top 500 Leading Lawyers in the nation, 16 years in a row
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Frank N. Darras was recognized as one of the Top 500 Leading Lawyers in the nation, 16 years in a row
Visit Honors & Awards
Why Choose DarrasLaw?
Experience
The experienced legal team at DarrasLaw brings more than 100 years of insurance, claims, administrative, and litigation experience to the table. No one has seen more, evaluated more, and resolved more disability insurance problems than DarrasLaw. We have represented every type of disabled policyholder: professional athletes, Hollywood A-listers, medical and legal professionals, teachers, first responders, clergy, union members, and the heart of our practice – blue-collar workers.
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Nationally Recognized
DarrasLaw has a reputation for excellence. Its attorneys, including founder Frank N. Darras, have received countless honors and awards, published hundreds of articles, and been invited to lecture on individual disability insurance, long-term care insurance, and long-term disability nationwide. We are passionate about our practice and it shows.
Our Awards
Unparalleled Resources
Billion-dollar insurance companies employ an army of lawyers and seemingly bottomless war chests. DarrasLaw has the resources to take on the toughest cases against the biggest carriers. We have recovered nearly $1B in wrongfully denied insurance benefits. We give the ill, injured, and disabled a powerful voice with vigorous national representation.
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Free Claim Assistance
Insurance claim forms are intentionally ambiguous and can be confusing. Don’t underestimate the damage you can do to your claim by making an innocent mistake. Take advantage of our Free Policy Analysis, Free Consultation, and Free Claim Assistance. There is no catch; free really means free.
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Nationwide Representation
DarrasLaw helps disabled policyholders in every state, from every walk of life, recover wrongfully denied insurance benefits. No matter where you live, you can turn to us for help. Lawyers from all over the country refer clients to us and partner with us on their toughest cases. Our national practice allows us to quickly identify and combat new insurance company denial strategies in individual disability insurance, long-term care insurance, and long-term disability claims.
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Our Clients Love Us
It’s our honor to represent chronically ill, injured, and disabled policyholders. We are passionate about helping them recover wrongfully denied or unreasonably delayed insurance benefits. We encourage you to read and hear what they say about us.
View Our TestimonialsWhy Choose DarrasLaw?
Experience
The legal team at DarrasLaw brings more than 100 years of insurance, claims, administrative, and litigation experience to the table. No one has seen more, evaluated more, and resolved more disability insurance problems than DarrasLaw. We have represented every type of disabled policyholder: professional athletes, Hollywood A-listers, medical and legal professionals, teachers, first responders, clergy, union members, and the heart of our practice – blue-collar workers.
View More ReasonsDarrasLaw has a reputation for excellence. Its attorneys, including founder Frank N. Darras, have received countless honors and awards, published hundreds of articles, and been invited to lecture on individual disability insurance, long-term care insurance, and long-term disability nationwide. We are passionate about our practice and it shows.
Our AwardsBillion-dollar insurance companies employ an army of lawyers and seemingly bottomless war chests. DarrasLaw has the resources to take on the toughest cases against the biggest carriers. We have recovered nearly $1B in wrongfully denied insurance benefits. We give the ill, injured, and disabled a powerful voice with vigorous national representation.
View More ReasonsInsurance claim forms are intentionally ambiguous and can be confusing. Don’t underestimate the damage you can do to your claim by making an innocent mistake. Take advantage of our Free Policy Analysis, Free Consultation, and Free Claim Assistance. There is no catch; free really means free.
View More ReasonsDarrasLaw helps disabled policyholders in every state, from every walk of life, recover wrongfully denied insurance benefits. No matter where you live, you can turn to us for help. Lawyers from all over the country refer clients to us and partner with us on their toughest cases. Our national practice allows us to quickly identify and combat new insurance company denial strategies in individual disability insurance, long-term care insurance, and long-term disability claims.
View More ReasonsIt’s our honor to represent chronically ill, injured, and disabled policyholders. We are passionate about helping them recover wrongfully denied or unreasonably delayed insurance benefits. We encourage you to read and hear what they say about us.
View More TestimonialsTestimonials
What Our Clients Say
Long Term Disability Claims
Long Term Disability Claims Overview
No matter what type of disability insurance coverage you have, you cannot receive monetary monthly benefits without first filing a comprehensive and complete insurance claim form. This is similar to insurance claims following a car accident or property damage to your home, though an LTD claim can be much more complex and have disastrous financial consequences if and when denied.
Long term disability insurance provides benefits so you can pay your bills, keep a roof over your head, and continue to cover your basic needs and expenses. You need these insurance benefits as soon as possible, which means you should seek legal help from an experienced long-term disability claims lawyer from the very start of your claim.
Long Term Disability Claims Overview
No matter what type of disability insurance coverage you have, you cannot receive monetary monthly benefits without first filing a comprehensive and complete insurance claim form. This is similar to insurance claims following a car accident or property damage to your home, though an LTD claim can be much more complex and have disastrous financial consequences if and when denied.
Long term disability insurance provides benefits so you can pay your bills, keep a roof over your head, and continue to cover your basic needs and expenses. You need these insurance benefits as soon as possible, which means you should seek legal help from an experienced long-term disability claims lawyer from the very start of your claim.
Factors that Determine
LTD Benefits
LTD Benefits
First, your disability insurance lawyer will review your medical conditions, treatment, testing, medications, occupational demands, earnings and your LTD policy. Different companies have different policy features, including what disabilities they cover and how much and for how long they may pay you in benefits. Most policies offer a percentage of your former income, though some offer fixed amounts no matter what you earned before your disability.
Other factors that can determine your LTD benefits include:
- When do actual monetary benefits kick in or what is the elimination period?
- SSDI, WCAB, state disability or third party settlement or judgment offsets if your policy is group or association coverage
- Partial disability vs. total disability
- Cost of living adjustments (COLA)
- Whether you currently receive short-term disability benefits?
- Whether your policy provides occupation specific coverage and for how long?
- Does your policy limit mental/nervous benefits to 24 months or limit self-reported sickness to 12, 18 or 24 months?
- What is the pre-existing condition language?
Next Steps for Long Term Disability Claims
Once your disability insurance lawyers determine how much you might expect to receive, they can apply for you, if retained. This entails gathering and submitting all pertinent information to the insurer to present the strongest case to support your disabled status. This includes all related medical records, opinions of your medical providers, subjective and objective testing, medication, occupational demands, financial and vocational information.
Always closely examine your records with your disability attorney to make sure they are complete and accurate. Medical providers make errors or omissions, and what might seem like a slight oversight can make the difference between the approval or denial of your valid LTD claim.
Insurers also can give unrepresented claimants the runaround when it comes to supporting documentation. The insurer might request specific records multiple times or fail to inform you that key information is missing from your disability file. The right disability insurance lawyers can review everything submitted and communicate with the insurance company to avoid wrongful denials based on inadequate or incomplete evidence of your disability.
Even if the insurance company initially approves your claim, you may need counsel to expedite receipt of your benefits and to comply monthly with the insurance company demands for continuing proof of loss documentation.
How A Skilled Long Term Disability Lawyer can Help
A skilled long-term disability attorney can help you prepare a complete, thorough, well-documented claim application. This can help maximize your chances of having your claim application for benefits approved promptly and avoid the disaster of making fatal mistakes that lead to a wrongful denial.
If you have applied for Disability Insurance benefits and your claim has been wrongfully denied, then a seasoned long term disability lawyer can help you timely file a comprehensive, sound appeal If your individual claim for benefits is wrongfully delayed or denied unreasonably or without proper cause, your long-term disability lawyer can file your complaint and try your case to a jury of your peers. If your group claim for disability insurance benefits is denied arbitrarily and capriciously, you generally must file your full and complete administrative appeal within strict time frames or you lose your rights. Further, every piece of medical, occupational, vocational, financial, physical and mental occupational demands along with ERISA case law from where you live and detailed analysis of why the insurance companies doctor cherry-picked and failed to give proper weight or unfairly dismissed relevant evidence. What isn’t included in your group administrative appeal generally cannot be added after the appeal is concluded. Get real help from an experienced long-term disability lawyer so you get the monthly disability benefits you paid for.
Long Term Disability Claims
Long Term Disability Claims Overview
No matter what type of disability insurance coverage you have, you cannot receive monetary monthly benefits without first filing a comprehensive and complete insurance claim form. This is similar to insurance claims following a car accident or property damage to your home, though an LTD claim can be much more complex and have disastrous financial consequences if and when denied.
Long term disability insurance provides benefits so you can pay your bills, keep a roof over your head, and continue to cover your basic needs and expenses. You need these insurance benefits as soon as possible, which means you should seek legal help from an experienced long-term disability claims lawyer from the very start of your claim.
Factors that Determine
LTD Benefits
LTD Benefits
First, your disability insurance lawyer will review your medical conditions, treatment, testing, medications, occupational demands, earnings and your LTD policy. Different companies have different policy features, including what disabilities they cover and how much and for how long they may pay you in benefits. Most policies offer a percentage of your former income, though some offer fixed amounts no matter what you earned before your disability.
Other factors that can determine your LTD benefits include:
- When do actual monetary benefits kick in or what is the elimination period?
- SSDI, WCAB, state disability or third party settlement or judgment offsets if your policy is group or association coverage
- Partial disability vs. total disability
- Cost of living adjustments (COLA)
- Whether you currently receive short-term disability benefits?
- Whether your policy provides occupation specific coverage and for how long?
- Does your policy limit mental/nervous benefits to 24 months or limit self-reported sickness to 12, 18 or 24 months?
- What is the pre-existing condition language?
Next Steps for Long Term Disability Claims
Once your disability insurance lawyers determine how much you might expect to receive, they can apply for you, if retained. This entails gathering and submitting all pertinent information to the insurer to present the strongest case to support your disabled status. This includes all related medical records, opinions of your medical providers, subjective and objective testing, medication, occupational demands, financial and vocational information.
Always closely examine your records with your disability attorney to make sure they are complete and accurate. Medical providers make errors or omissions, and what might seem like a slight oversight can make the difference between the approval or denial of your valid LTD claim.
Insurers also can give unrepresented claimants the runaround when it comes to supporting documentation. The insurer might request specific records multiple times or fail to inform you that key information is missing from your disability file. The right disability insurance lawyers can review everything submitted and communicate with the insurance company to avoid wrongful denials based on inadequate or incomplete evidence of your disability.
Even if the insurance company initially approves your claim, you may need counsel to expedite receipt of your benefits and to comply monthly with the insurance company demands for continuing proof of loss documentation.
How A Skilled Long Term Disability Lawyer can Help
A skilled long-term disability attorney can help you prepare a complete, thorough, well-documented claim application. This can help maximize your chances of having your claim application for benefits approved promptly and avoid the disaster of making fatal mistakes that lead to a wrongful denial.
If you have applied for Disability Insurance benefits and your claim has been wrongfully denied, then a seasoned long term disability lawyer can help you timely file a comprehensive, sound appeal If your individual claim for benefits is wrongfully delayed or denied unreasonably or without proper cause, your long-term disability lawyer can file your complaint and try your case to a jury of your peers. If your group claim for disability insurance benefits is denied arbitrarily and capriciously, you generally must file your full and complete administrative appeal within strict time frames or you lose your rights. Further, every piece of medical, occupational, vocational, financial, physical and mental occupational demands along with ERISA case law from where you live and detailed analysis of why the insurance companies doctor cherry-picked and failed to give proper weight or unfairly dismissed relevant evidence. What isn’t included in your group administrative appeal generally cannot be added after the appeal is concluded. Get real help from an experienced long-term disability lawyer so you get the monthly disability benefits you paid for.
How We Help
Our Practice Areas
Individual Disability Insurance Litigation
Do you simply want to understand what your policy means and what you are entitled to? Have you only recently become disabled and need help filing a claim? Have you already filed a claim and been run over by the insurance company? Let us extend a helping hand.
Individual Disability Insurance Litigation
Do you simply want to understand what your policy means and what you are entitled to? Have you only recently become disabled and need help filing a claim? Have you already filed a claim and been run over by the insurance company? Let us extend a helping hand.
Group Long-Term Disability "LTD"
While individual insurance is issued to a single person, group disability insurance is, as the name implies, issued to a group of people. More often than not, that group is made up of employees working for the same employer.
ERISA Litigation and Appeals
ERISA law provides you with rights and insurance companies with obligations. Unfortunately, that does not stop insurance companies from doing everything they can to keep your benefits in their pockets instead of using it to pay claims.
Who We Are
Who We Are
Our Attorneys
Frank N. Darras
Frank Darras has dedicated his life to helping the sick, disabled, and elderly recover their unreasonably delayed and wrongfully denied disability insurance benefits.
He has seen, evaluated, litigated, and resolved more disability and long-term care cases than any firm in the United States. Darras’ tireless work advocating for the disabled has led to stellar results for his clients and earned him the respect of the insurance industry. His firm DarrasLaw has recovered nearly $1 billion in wrongfully denied insurance benefits, placing the firm in a disability league of it's own.
Learn More About Frank N. Darras
Who We Are
Our Attorneys
Frank N. Darras
Frank Darras has dedicated his life to helping the sick, disabled, and elderly recover their unreasonably delayed and wrongfully denied disability insurance benefits.
He has seen, evaluated, litigated, and resolved more disability and long-term care cases than any firm in the United States. Darras’ tireless work advocating for the disabled has led to stellar results for his clients and earned him the respect of the insurance industry. His firm DarrasLaw has recovered $800 million in wrongfully denied insurance benefits, placing the firm in a disability league of its own.
Learn More About Frank N. Darras
Who We Are
Our Attorneys
Susan B. Grabarsky
Susan B. Grabarsky represents individual and group policyholders in disability, health, property, casualty, and business insurance bad faith actions. Ms. Grabarsky also handles cases on behalf of patients who have been subjected to unreasonable delay in medical treatment or denial of authorization for specialized surgical procedures. Ms. Grabarsky’s expertise is based on her nine years of experience as a cost-containment analyst for major insurance companies and large self-insured employers in California.
Learn More About Susan Grabarsky
Who We Are
Our Attorneys
Heather Gardner
Heather Conner represents policyholders in individual disability, ERISA short-term and long-term disability and long-term care actions. Ms. Gardner prepares clients’ administrative appeals in their ERISA claims in an attempt to restore clients’ benefits without the need for litigation. In addition, Ms. Gardner works with Frank Darras on complex individual disability and ERISA litigation matters.
Learn More About Heather Gardner
Who We Are
Our Attorneys
Phillip S. Bather
Phillip S. Bather represents insurance policyholders in disability bad faith and ERISA short and long-term disability actions. Mr. Bather reviews new client referrals and meets with policyholders to assist and evaluate their potential actions against individual or group insurance carriers. His expertise includes ERISA administrative appeals, representing claimants to reverse their previously denied or terminated benefits.
Learn More About Phillip S. Bather
Our Awards and Recognitions
The Best of the Best
DarrasLaw's attorneys, including founder Frank N. Darras, have received numerous honors and awards from peers, validating the claim that we are America's top disability firm.
In the media
Article & Media Contributions
Frank Darras is often quoted in major media, is a regular guest on radio shows, and has been in feature articles in Smart Money, USA Today, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and featured on news programs including Fox Business, ABC News, CBS News, NBC, and others.
FAQs
Answers to Your Questions
Answers to Your Questions
What Kind of Disability Issues Are People Facing?
"Our disabled clients have literally fallen to the very bottom of their life. They’ve been beaten up, worn down, and starved out by their insurance companies. They’ve got an insurance policy that’s supposed to pay benefits, but the claim forms are confusing.” "The insurance company wants to go get them examined. They want tax returns. They want more documents. They’re literally overwhelmed and they need our help now."
Learn More
What Kind of Disability Issues Are People Facing?
"Our disabled clients have literally fallen to the very bottom of their life. They’ve been beaten up, worn down, and starved out by their insurance companies. They’ve got an insurance policy that’s supposed to pay benefits, but the claim forms are confusing.” "The insurance company wants to go get them examined. They want tax returns. They want more documents. They’re literally overwhelmed and they need our help now."
Learn More
What Sets DarrasLaw Apart In The Field of Disability Law?
“I think the difference at DarrasLaw is that we’ve really earned the respect of the industry. We have over 100 years of hard fought insurance and litigation experience. They know we’ve been to the home office. We’ve deposed everybody there is, at every major insurance company, over the last 30 years. That’s certainly earned the respect of their general counsel, their national trial counsel, defense counsel.” “And that’s important because when you litigate, you’d like somebody to respect you and respect your lawyer, and that’s really, really important. We have left the other side with their dignity and they respect our clients. Last, we have unparallelled resources. We know how to get the insurance company to buckle and to make sure that they’re accountable and responsible for what they did.”
Learn More
What Do I Need To Think About Before I Request Claim Forms?
“Oftentimes, it’s really difficult to decide when you’re really disabled. It’s no problem if you’re hurt in an accident. That’s easy. It’s the day of the accident.” “But when you’ve got a progressive sickness, sometimes we see it a lot with doctors. They give away the big surgeries. They let the younger associates take over the surgical responsibilities. And by the time they get ready to file a year or two later, they’re left with the strains and sprains or pre and post-op follow-up care and treatment duties, and the carrier doesn’t have a very clear picture of your true occupation.”
Learn More
Why Do You Need an Attorney for a Disability Insurance Claim?
When it comes to insurance, we're often told we're in good hands. And we know better. Our insurance company is going to take advantage of any confusion or ambiguity. Whether you're buying a policy and you need some help understanding the features or the advantages or the benefits, we offer that free policy analysis. Two, you've got a policy, you're not sure that you're ready to file a claim, but you need some help in understanding how to properly fill out a claim form so you won't get delayed or wrongfully denied. Or you're on claim and now the carrier says, we want to come out and have a field visit with you, we want to send you to an independent medical exam, or we want to get a functional capacity evaluation.
Learn More
The Best of the Best
08 Answers to Your Questions
08 Answers to Your Questions
What Kind of Disability Issues Are People Facing?
"Our disabled clients have literally fallen to the very bottom of their life. They’ve been beaten up, worn down, and starved out by their insurance companies. They’ve got an insurance policy that’s supposed to pay benefits, but the claim forms are confusing.” "The insurance company wants to go get them examined. They want tax returns. They want more documents. They’re literally overwhelmed and they need our help now."
Learn More
What Sets DarrasLaw Apart In The Field of Disability Law?
“I think the difference at DarrasLaw is that we’ve really earned the respect of the industry. We have over 100 years of hard fought insurance and litigation experience. They know we’ve been to the home office. We’ve deposed everybody there is, at every major insurance company, over the last 30 years. That’s certainly earned the respect of their general counsel, their national trial counsel, defense counsel.” “And that’s important because when you litigate, you’d like somebody to respect you and respect your lawyer, and that’s really, really important. We have left the other side with their dignity and they respect our clients. Last, we have unparallelled resources. We know how to get the insurance company to buckle and to make sure that they’re accountable and responsible for what they did.”
Learn More
What Do I Need To Think About Before I Request Claim Forms?
“Oftentimes, it’s really difficult to decide when you’re really disabled. It’s no problem if you’re hurt in an accident. That’s easy. It’s the day of the accident.” “But when you’ve got a progressive sickness, sometimes we see it a lot with doctors. They give away the big surgeries. They let the younger associates take over the surgical responsibilities. And by the time they get ready to file a year or two later, they’re left with the strains and sprains or pre and post-op follow-up care and treatment duties, and the carrier doesn’t have a very clear picture of your true occupation.”
Learn More
Why Do You Need an Attorney for a Disability Insurance Claim?
When it comes to insurance, we're often told we're in good hands. And we know better. Our insurance company is going to take advantage of any confusion or ambiguity. Whether you're buying a policy and you need some help understanding the features or the advantages or the benefits, we offer that free policy analysis. Two, you've got a policy, you're not sure that you're ready to file a claim, but you need some help in understanding how to properly fill out a claim form so you won't get delayed or wrongfully denied. Or you're on claim and now the carrier says, we want to come out and have a field visit with you, we want to send you to an independent medical exam, or we want to get a functional capacity evaluation.
Learn More