Longtime partner at Pillsbury & Coleman tapped for judgeship Pillsbury & Coleman, LLP, proudly announces that attorney Vedica Puri has been appointed to a judgeship on the San Francisco County Superior Court. She has been a partner at our law firm since 2005. Vedica Puri, 47, of San Francisco, fills the seat vacated by

Short-term or long-term disability insurance through your employer is not the safety net you think it is. Employees who actually file ERISA disability claims are regularly turned down, often with little explanation and little recourse. Why was your claim denied? It may have to do with the fine print of the policy

Cancer is one of the most common causes of disability. But many cancer patients who invoke their long term disability insurance have their claims denied. The stated reasons for denial vary, but typically the rationale is that the person is “not disabled enough.” It is possible to fight back against a claim

If you successfully sue an insurance company for bad faith, you are entitled to monetary damages. In addition to compensatory damages (your actual losses), you may be awarded punitive damages, which are meant to punish and deter the wrongdoing. When do punitive damages apply? How are they calculated? Understanding insurance bad faith

The vast majority of disabilities arise from medical disorders rather than from an accident or injury. Musculoskeletal disorders – such as back problems, arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome — are the biggest category of long-term disability claims. These claims are also frequently denied. Unlike cancer or a broken bone, it is not

California is again facing a series of wildfires, with numerous large and small blazes burning throughout the state. Some Californians are being forced to evacuate their homes when fires get too close. Being forced to flee from your home is difficult, but returning to a seriously damaged or destroyed home can be emotionally

Suffering from a long-term disability (LTD) means you already have enough to deal with. You do not want to add fighting with an insurance company to the list. All too often, insurance companies try to avoid paying for coverage. That could leave you vulnerable both physically and financially. There are actions you

The basic concept of insurance is that it functions as a pooling of risk for policyholders and the insurer. Policyholders pay into a common fund to be drawn upon at a later date if needed. The money in the common fund belongs to policyholders and the insurer earns a fee for managing

When you enter into a contractual relationship with an insurance company, you expect that they will honor the terms contained in their policy. At the time you decide to accept their offer for coverage, they made promises to you that you would be protected in the event that something should happen. Unfortunately,

Many of us depend upon our jobs to provide us with the means to make a living. We create budgets and financial plans based on the amount of money that we make each month. When we suffer an injury or illness that makes working impossible, we need to know what we can