nonnie9999
New Member
I have been disabled since 1997 following back surgery. I was covered thru work with CNA Insurance. They cut off my disability payments in March 1999 based upon a report by their hired gun (a physical therapist), even though I was certified as 100% diabled by an orthopedic surgeon and approved by Social Security Disability (which I have been told has a much higher threshhold than private insurance companies). I cannot find and attorney who will represent me. The reason? It is a very winnable case. However, I did not make enough money so that it would be profitable for an attorney to try the case. It has to be filed in federal court. Expert witnesses must be compensated. The ERISA law is written to benefit the insurance companies and throws the consumer to the lions. Even if the consumer wins the case, the insurance company does not necessarily have to pay attorney costs. All they have to do is say they had a good-faith basis for denying the claim (i.e. a report by their hired gun). The insurance companies have lawyers in their employ, so they do not care about going to court. Tehy are aware that the average person does not have the resources to fight them in court. I was told by an attorney that these cases are only attractive to them if a person had a yearly salary of over $100,000. Once again, it isn't the righteousness of your case that counts, it is the amount of money you have. Is this equal justice under the law or only equal justice for the rich? If you have a similar problem or know someone who does, I would love to hear from you. This is a warning to everyone out there. I never thought I would be disabled, I suppose nobody does. This could happen to you or someone you love. I am hoping I will hear from people with a similar problem in the hopes that a class-action suit can be filed against CNA in order for it to be profitable enough to an attorney to consider taking the case. I have written to my U.S. Senator. This law must be changed in order to protect the little guy. Thanks for your attention, hope to hear from you.