DiGregorio v. Hartford Comprehensive Employee Benefit Service Co.

What Happened
DiGregorio worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and applied for long-term disability benefits through the company's employee benefit plan, which was administered by Hartford Comprehensive Employee Benefit Service Co. Hartford denied DiGregorio's claim for disability benefits. DiGregorio sued, arguing that Hartford failed to properly accommodate his disability and didn't follow the required procedures when reviewing and denying his benefits claim under ERISA (a federal law that governs employee benefit plans).

What the Court Decided
The court ruled in favor of Hartford and the PricewaterhouseCoopers disability plan. Both the original trial court and the appeals court found that Hartford did follow proper procedures when denying DiGregorio's disability benefits claim. The court determined that the plan administrator met all the legal requirements under ERISA and did not violate any procedural rules.

What This Means for Workers
This case shows that employees face significant challenges when fighting denied disability benefit claims. Even when workers believe their employer's benefit administrator made mistakes in the review process, courts will uphold denials if the administrator followed basic procedural requirements. Workers should carefully document their disability claims and consider getting legal help early in the process, as the standards for overturning benefit denials are quite high.