NEW ORLEANS – A disabled man claims he was wrongly denied disability benefits and is seeking the court’s help in retrieving information from his plan administrator.
Stanley Reed filed a lawsuit on Feb. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Court of Louisiana, New Orleans Division against North America Health and Welfare Plans Leader, as plan administrator of the Dow Chemical Co. long-term disability program, alleging that the defendants violated their fiduciary duties required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Reed asserts that he was a former employee of Dow Chemical Co. and was enrolled under the company’s insurance plan, which included long-term disability coverage by Liberty Life Assurance as administrated by defendants. Around 2013, plaintiff became disabled and was unable to work or seek other work, the suit states. Reed attests that the defendant paid his claims until 2015, when it allegedly denied him benefits. On July 30, 2015, and August 2015, Reed allegedly made several requests for information from defendants regarding his plan but was denied. He asserts that he provided to defendants the pertinent information regarding his disability, including a confirmation that he was approved for Social Security Disability benefits and a sworn statement from his physician stating that he was disabled, but the defendants allegedly denied his claims and refused to provide him the information he requested.
He is now asking the court to issue an order requiring defendant to file a full and complete copy of his administrative files, and award him all back due benefits along with penalties, attorney fees and the cost of the suit. He is represented by J. Michael Rhymes in Monroe.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-CV-01311-JCZ-SS