Understand your ERISA long-term disability appeal deadline before you miss it
US ERISA-governed employer group long-term-disability (LTD) claim denials and appeals: the 180-day appeal deadline, the administrative-record rule, and how to find an attorney who handles ERISA LTD appeals.
An independent guide to appealing a denied ERISA long-term disability claim: the 180-day appeal deadline (a minimum your plan must give you, running from when you receive the denial), how to build your evidence file, the administrative-record rule, and attorneys who handle these appeals nationwide.
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Your LTD claim was denied. Here is what actually matters right now
A denied long-term disability claim under an employer group plan almost always comes with a strict deadline to file an internal appeal, and federal regulation sets that deadline at a minimum of 180 days from when you receive the denial notice, not from the date printed on the letter.
The internal appeal, not a future lawsuit, is generally the one chance to put every piece of medical, vocational and financial evidence into the file. Many courts limit their review of a later lawsuit to the record that existed when the plan decided the appeal, so evidence you save for later may never be read by anyone.
These guides cover the federal rules that govern most employer-sponsored group LTD plans under ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act), a self-assessment to check whether ERISA even applies to your plan, a deadline calculator, and a list of attorneys who handle these appeals nationwide.