MetLife Long Term Disability Benefits Reinstated After Wrongful Termination

The Law Office of Justin C. Frankel, P.C. recently secured a full reinstatement of long term disability (LTD) benefits for a client whose claim was wrongfully terminated by MetLife. After a thorough and aggressive appeal, MetLife reversed its decision and restored the client’s benefits, affirming what the medical and vocational evidence had shown all along: our client remained totally disabled under the terms of his policy.

MetLife terminated the claim based on a flawed review process that relied heavily on selective medical records, biased paper only physician reviews, and unsupported assumptions about our client’s ability to work. There was no evidence of medical improvement, no in person medical examination, and no meaningful analysis of the real world demands of the client’s occupation. Despite this, MetLife abruptly concluded that the client was capable of returning to work.

Our firm dismantled MetLife’s determination by exposing its procedural and substantive failures. We demonstrated that MetLife cherry picked portions of the record while ignoring overwhelming evidence from multiple treating physicians who consistently documented severe, ongoing impairments. We highlighted MetLife’s reliance on paid consulting vendors who never examined the claimant and whose opinions conflicted with both objective testing and longitudinal treatment records.

Critically, our appeal reconstructed the claim the way ERISA requires: by evaluating the totality of the evidence. We submitted comprehensive physician narratives, detailed functional limitations, objective testing results, and independent expert opinions that directly addressed MetLife’s unsupported conclusions. We also established that MetLife failed to conduct any legitimate vocational analysis, despite asserting that the client could perform his own occupation or other work.

By grounding the appeal in the policy language, ERISA standards, and well established federal case law, we showed that MetLife’s termination was arbitrary and capricious. The evidence made clear that the client’s condition had not improved, that his symptoms continued to impose severe functional restrictions, and that he remained unable to perform the material and substantial duties of his occupation on a reliable and sustained basis.

Faced with a comprehensive and well documented appeal, MetLife reversed its termination and reinstated LTD benefits.

This outcome reflects the firm’s approach to LTD appeals: meticulous record development, strategic use of medical and vocational proof, and a clear focus on holding insurers accountable to the law and the terms of their own policies. When disability insurers overreach or prioritize profits over fairness, the Law Office of Justin C. Frankel, P.C. is prepared to push back—and win.

At the Law Office of Justin C. Frankel, P.C., we remain committed to standing with claimants whose lives and livelihoods are impacted by disability insurers’ improper denials. If you or someone you know is struggling with a long term disability claim, our team is here to fight for you.