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Sinclair Law Firm successfully litigated an ERISA case and received summary judgment ruling in client’s favor regarding his disability pension from the UMWA. The court found that de novo review applied because of UMWA’s procedural and full and fair review violations and further concluded that the denial would have been unreasonable if that standard had been applied.

The UMWA wrongfully concluded no force or impact was involved in Mr. Shanklin’s mine accident and unreasonably concluded that no disability whatsoever that was caused in part by a degenerative condition could obtain benefits. This reasoning directly contradicted UMWA’s own formal internal interpretations, which were not applied or disclosed to Mr. Shanklin. Under those standards, a disability pension should have been awarded if a miner’s disability is caused by a mine accident that aggravates or combines with a preexisting injury, such as a degenerative condition.

We showed conclusively that Mr. Shanklin’s disabling back pain resulted from his mine injuries, regardless of the fact that his degenerative disc disease made him more susceptible to a back injury. As a result, our client won his disability benefits.