CA Jury Awards FM/CFS Patient $15.4 Million in Disability Suit

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CA Jury Awards FM/CFS Patient $15.4 Million in Disability Suit

by Editor

ImmuneSupport.com

03-19-2007

http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm?

id=7839 & T=CFIDS_FM & B1=EM032107F

On Thursday March 8, 2007 a jury in the Superior Court of San Diego

County, California ordered Prudential Insurance Company of America

to pay FM and CFS patient Darla $14 million in punitive

damages.

This was in addition to an award of $982,082 in compensatory damages

the jury had awarded her the previous week to cover back and future

disability benefits the company had fully terminated – plus general

damages of $500,000 " for the grief, humiliation, and inconvenience

caused by the improper termination of benefits, " according to the

San Diego-based legal firm of , Simpson & , LLP, which

represented Ms. .

Prudential charged that Ms. , age 49, had not submitted

enough evidence to prove she is disabled. But the jury decided

otherwise, after a six-week trial during which Ms. spent

much of the time with her head down on the table or resting on the

floor.

Formerly a University Construction Manager

By way of background, the attorneys reported, " As a project manager

in the University of California-San Francisco's construction

department, Ms. bought into a group plan providing coverage

for income replacement if she became unable to work. In May 1995,

Ms. was diagnosed with Lupus, Fibromyalgia Syndrome, Chronic

Fatigue Syndrome, and Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome, and had to

stop working.

" After approximately five years of paying benefits [at half her

income before she stopped working], Prudential terminated Ms.

's benefits. Two internal appeals were denied, and Ms.

had to file suit to correct the wrongful termination of her

policy benefits. "

Prudential maintained that the termination decision was proper,

because Ms. was not able to provide sufficient objective

evidence to substantiate her disability.

Landmark Victory for Victims of Such Illnesses

Before the decision to halt payments, Prudential sent Ms. to

a physician for " an independent medical exam, " which resulted in a

report indicating she was not disabled, according to coverage of the

case in the March 10, 2007 issue of the San Diego Union-Tribune. An

expert for the defense testified that the insurer had begun to

require " more stringent objective evidence to support disability

claims, such as X-rays and blood tests, " the Union-Tribune article

stated. But Ms. 's case involved " a perfunctory exam " and " a

perfunctory report, " , one of her attorneys, reportedly

charged. " He was paid to find she wasn't disabled. "

" This case is a landmark victory for anyone with Lupus, Fibromyalgia

Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or other illness or syndrome for

which there is limited objective medical evidence, " stated.

Admittedly, the award for punitive damages that the jury called for

is huge, and there's some debate as to whether it is within legal

limits. Prudential plans to appeal. But the bigger questions are

whether Ms. will actually receive some of this compensation –

and if so, when? It could take three years for her to receive any

money, comments her lead defense attorney, Simpson.