Yes, if the severance agreement contains broad (and often-times confusing) language waiving your right to pursue a claim for long-term disability benefits. Therefore, be sure to consult with a disability insurance attorney before signing a severance agreement to protect yourself from giving up your right to pursue disability benefits from the insurance plan - which has very little, if anything, to do with your employer.
A skilled disability insurance attorney should review your severance agreement and:
- Explain what rights, if any, you would be waiving by signing the agreement as is; and
- Draft what is known as a “carve-out” to ensure you maintain the right to pursue a disability claim against the insurance plan.
Once you sign the severance agreement, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to go back and ask for it to be changed.
In addition, keep in mind that your severance pay may qualify as “other income” under your policy. If so, this means the amount of your disability benefit would be offset, or reduced, by the amount of severance pay you receive.
At Dabdoub Law Firm, our attorneys have expertise in advising clients on making the necessary revisions to a severance agreement before they sign to avoid an inadvertent waiver of their right to pursue disability benefits. If your employer offers you a severance package and you are unsure whether you would be waiving your right to disability benefits, please contact our office for a free consultation with one of our attorneys before signing anything.
Help from a Lawyer with Expertise in Disability Insurance
This law firm was built to be a disability insurance law firm.
That focus means:
- All of our lawyers specialize in disability insurance claims;
- We have experience with every major disability insurance company;
- We have won important long term disability lawsuits.
Our disability lawyers can help you with:
- Submitting a disability insurance claim;
- Appealing a long-term disability denial;
- Negotiating a lump-sum settlement; or
- Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company.
Call for a free consultation with an experienced disability attorney. Pay no fees or costs unless you get paid.