News & Resources

Like Many Other Companies, General Electric Has Been Swept Up in the Long-Term Care Financing Crisis The costs of long-term care (LTC) for older Americans can be catastrophic, often reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime.  While insurance carriers and corporations jumped at the opportunity to market LTC insurance products as a consumer safeguard in the 1980s and early 1990s, many of these companies are now finding themselves in a serious financial predicament.  Having sold billions of dollars in LTC products to consumers, these entities are struggling with how they are going to cover the […]

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Bryant Legal Group PC announces that Attorney David Bryant has been invited to speak at the Illinois State Bar Association, Elder Law Section Council’s fifth annual boot camp on April 26-27, 2018 in Chicago.  Attorney Bryant will discuss private pay options to cover the cost of home health care, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other forms of care in the current long-term care environment. A member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Insurance Law Section, David Bryant is the founding partner of Bryant Legal Group PC – a Chicago-based law firm focused on helping policyholders collect insurance coverage and […]

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If you enrolled in a Group Disability Plan you have bought fools’ gold: Only covers 60% at most 80% of your earnings Then reduce that 60-80% by any Social security benefits you might receive, benefits will terminate at 65 years old; Usually limits coverage for any “mental/nervous” claims; and Usually governed by ERISA which preempts state law causes of action, like bad faith. The Social Security disability program quires that an individual to be unable to a complete a regular work-week with regular. Consistency of performance will often “disable” a patient because of lack of endurance, attention concentration persistence and […]

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision in Prather v. Sun Life and Health Insurance Company on December 13, 2016. On July 16, 2013, Jeremy Prather had torn his left Achilles tendon playing basketball and after consulting with an orthopedic surgeon he scheduled surgery for July 22, 2013.  The day before surgery Prather called the surgeon’s office to complain of swelling in the lower part of his leg and he reported that an area of the calf was both sensitive and warm to the touch.  The surgeon told Prather to elevate the leg. Surgery the […]

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District court upholds insurer’s denial of LTD benefits agreeing with the insurer’s file reviewer that there are no objective findings from a psychiatric standpoint that indicates the Claimant is mentally, cognitively and/or behaviorally impaired. In Gailey v Life Insurance Company of North America, 2016 WL 6082112 ( M.D. Penn. October 17, 2016), the Claimant was a 48 year old office manager for many years with a history of anxiety and depression.  On July 15, 2013 she reported having an emotional breakdown at work and left the office crying, shaking, and suffering a panic attack.  She was unable to return to […]

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision in Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada v. U.S. Bank National Association on October 12, 2016 affirming the district court’s judgment.  The Court’s decision begins, “A common law principle that so far as we know is in force in every state of the United States forbids a person to own an insurance policy that insures someone else’s life unless the policy owner has an insurable interest in that life. Ohio National Life Assurance Corp. v. Davis, 803 F.3d 904, 907–08 (7th Cir. 2015).  So you are allowed […]

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Bryant Legal Group’s October 2016 “You Should Know” newsletter was distributed last night.  It is available online here.  In this issue: “Addiction Explodes with Sales,” “Abuse, Addiction Prevention Checklist,” and “Track Pharma Dollars to Docs.”  If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter, you can do that here.

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One of the most important tips is simple.  Always be honest with your doctors.  Your doctor appointments are not the time to put your best foot forward.  We frequently hear feedback from clients that they want their doctors to feel positive about their treatment and what they are doing to help them, so they in turn minimize their symptoms. First and most importantly, your doctor needs an accurate report from you of your symptoms and their severity in order to provide the best treatment possible.  Secondarily, if you are filing a claim for disability and you always are telling your […]

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The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s decision regarding insurer’s duty to defend. Cincinnati Insurance Company brought action seeking declaration that its policy did not apply to the underlying claims against insured, arising out of automobile accident which resulted in death of insured’s wife. The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Richard Mills, J., 2015 WL 4978711, granted in part and denied in part Cincinnati’s motion for summary judgment and granted in part and denied in part insured’s motion for summary judgment. Cincinnati appealed. In August 2010, […]

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Zagorski v. Allstate Insurance Company, 2016 IL App (5th) 140056 (May 16, 2016) St. Clair Co. (CATES) Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and vacated in part; remanded with directions.  (WELCH and GOLDENHERSH, concurring.) Plaintiffs filed suit against their insurer, Allstate Insurance Company, alleging vexatious breach of contract and common law fraud, under Section 155 of Insurance Code, in handling of their homeowners’ insurance claim.  Defendant insurer argued that the trial court abused its discretion in permitting the Plaintiffs to discover the number of times in the last five years that Allstate (a) was cited by the Illinois Department of […]

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