Disabled Worker Takes on CIGNA in Long Term Denied Disability Lawsuit

New Orleans, LAStandly Norwood is standing up for his rights after filing a Long term denied disability lawsuit against CIGNA Insurance Co. over what he alleges as the wrongful denial of disability benefits. The employee of Lockheed Martin filed his action May 31 in US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Record (6/23/16), Norwood has been off work since January of last year due to health issues and disability. His complaint asserts that as a result of his disability Norwood has been deemed eligible to receive benefits through Social Security.

According to the Wrongly Denied Disability Claims litigation, Norwood made a claim through CIGNA Insurance Co. for disability benefits, only to be denied in June of last year as CIGNA relied only on its own medical consultant(s) for its evaluation, or so it is alleged.

Based on that evaluation, CIGNA determined that Norwood was not eligible for long term disability benefits. Norwood begs to differ, and has filed a bad faith insurance lawsuit alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), amongst other claims.

The lawsuit is Norwood v. CIGNA Insurance Company, Case No. 2:2016-cv-07524.

Meanwhile The Chronicle of Willimantic, Connecticut (6/1/16) reports that veterans exposed to mustard gas during secret experiments conducted during World War II have been denied benefits, with the vast majority of claimants having had their applications for long-term disability benefits denied by The Department of Veterans Affairs (The VA).

According to the report, some 60,000 service personnel were used as human guinea pigs by the military as test subjects with regard to the suitability of protective equipment. Of those 60,000 some 4,000 service personal were subjected to full-body exposure from mustard gas or Lewisite, identified as another agent that is highly toxic.

The testing, conducted as a research experiment and kept secret, is alleged to have left thousands of veterans with grievous health problems. Hundreds filed for long term disability benefits from The VA, with no fewer than 1,213 claims for disability benefits related to exposure to mustard gas during WWII. Those claims came in over a ten-year span from 2005 through 2015.

Of the 1,213 long-term disability claims, 1,028 were denied - or about 85 percent.

Only 40 veterans are currently receiving benefits related to exposure to mustard gas.

Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri tabled a report May 31 and is moving forward with legislation that would be known as The Arla Harrell Act, so named for the 89-year-old veteran from Bevier who is thought to be the last living victim of the mustard gas tests in Missouri. The situation, said McCaskill, is “frankly, beyond outrageous.”

Harrell was a teen US Army recruit when he was exposed to mustard gas without a mask, and subjected to the application of liquid chemical to his skin. Harrell has since suffered from long-term lung issues, skin cancer, and multiple strokes. He has applied, and has been rejected for disability benefits since 1992. His last rejection was April 21 of this year.

It is hoped that The Act, if passed, will benefit mustard gas veterans who for years have had to contend with Wrongly Denied Disability Claims.