Gessling v. Group Long Term Disability Plan for Employees of Sprint/United Management Co.

**What Happened** An employee at Sprint/United Management Company was receiving long-term disability benefits but had them cut off by the insurance plan administrator. The employee believed this decision was wrong and unfair, so he sued the company's disability plan, arguing they had broken their contract by improperly terminating his benefits. **What the Court Decided** The court ruled in favor of the employee. The judge found that the plan administrator made an "arbitrary and capricious" decision when they stopped his disability payments. The court determined that the administrator unreasonably ignored the employee's doctor's medical assessment and other evidence supporting his disability claim. As a result, the court ordered that his benefits be restored for the remaining two-year period and sent the case back for further review of his eligibility for different types of benefits. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling shows that disability insurance companies can't just ignore medical evidence from treating doctors when making benefit decisions. Workers have legal protection when insurance administrators make unreasonable decisions about cutting off disability benefits. If your employer's disability plan wrongfully denies or terminates your benefits, you may have grounds to challenge that decision in court.