Ranking Arizona Names Firm #1 for the Second Year in a Row

We are pleased to announce that we have been named the #1 Arizona Law Firm with 24 or fewer attorneys by Ranking Arizona: The Best of Arizona Business for the second year in a row.

Ranking Arizona is an annual publication of Arizona Business Magazine.  Every year, Arizona Business Magazine compiles a list of the top companies in the state in various categories, including professional services such as accounting, real estate, and law.  The final rankings in each category are selected by Arizona residents, who vote for the firms they most recommend.

In addition, attorneys Edward Comitz and Patrick Stanley, were both named Top Healthcare Attorneys in Ranking Arizona‘s individual rankings.



Edward Comitz Named Top Valley Lawyer for Insurance

Edward O. Comitz, Esq. has been named a Top Valley Insurance Lawyer by North Valley Magazine, a publication serving the Greater Phoenix metropolitan community.

Each year, North Valley Magazine partners with Avvo, Inc., to publish a list of the area’s leading legal professionals.  Check out the full article here.



AzMedicine publishes “Can Your Disability Insurer Dictate the Terms of Your Care?” article by Ed Comitz and Michael Vincent

Disability insurance attorney Edward O. Comitz and Michael Vincent had their article Can Your Disability Insurer Dictate the Terms of Your Care? published in the Winter edition of AzMedicine, the publication of the Arizona Medical Association.  The article is excerpted below.

Can Your Disability Insurer Dictate the Terms of Your Care?

By Edward O. Comitz, Esq. and Michael Vincent

Imagine that you are a surgeon who has submitted a disability insurance claim after failed cataract surgery left you with halos, starbursts, and even temporary blindness under bright lighting. While you are dedicated to your profession, you realize that continuing to operate on patients puts them in danger.  Your disability insurance company, however, will not pay your claim.  It insists that you can keep performing surgeries, alleviating any occupational hazards by wearing sunglasses and using matte-finish instruments in the operating room.  This scenario may sound absurd, but it is an actual example of some of the difficulties faced by many doctors seeking legitimate policy benefits.  Fortunately, the surgeon in question had the common sense to cease performing surgeries rather than follow her insurer’s suggestions.  Her decision did affect her financially, as benefits were denied for almost two years, and only paid after litigation ensued.

Insurance company treatment mandates are commonplace and based on their interpretation of the terms of your policy.  In some cases, the insurance company goes so far as to demand surgery, invading your privacy and leaving you with the choice of either undergoing an operation involuntarily, bearing all of the medical risks and financial costs yourself, or waiving your right to collect disability insurance benefits.  The decision can be difficult, but understanding your rights and obligations beforehand can help alleviate much of the worry.

Whether or not insurers can legally condition payment of your disability insurance benefits upon you following their suggested treatments depends on the specific terms in your policy.  The various policy types fall into three general categories: “regular care” policies, “appropriate care” policies, and “most appropriate care” policies.

The oldest policies typically contain provisions conditioning benefits on being “under the regular care and attendance of a physician.”  These “regular care” policies provide the most protection for insureds, as courts have repeatedly found that these provisions only create a duty for the insured to undergo regular monitoring by a physician to determine if the disability persists.  Even if a proposed surgery is usually successful and very low risk, an insurance company cannot force it upon you.  Under a policy requiring only regular care, courts will not enforce any particular course of treatment, no matter how vehemently an insurance company objects. Continue reading “AzMedicine publishes “Can Your Disability Insurer Dictate the Terms of Your Care?” article by Ed Comitz and Michael Vincent”



Ed Comitz Named a Top Lawyer by North Valley Magazine and Avvo

Disability insurance attorney Edward Comitz has been named a Top Lawyer by North Valley magazine.  North Valley magazine chose Mr. Comitz as a top lawyer in recognition of his superb rating on Avvo. North Valley magazine will feature Mr. Comitz as a Top Lawyer in the October/November issue.

Our disability insurance attorneys provide legal representation to protect the disability benefits of medical and dental professionals nationwide and throughout metropolitan Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, Flagstaff, Sedona, Lake Havasu City, Prescott, and Yuma. We provide disability income claim advice, assistance with filing disability claims, including completion of disability claim forms and representation in disability insurance litigation.



Patrick T. Stanley: Newest Member

We are delighted to announce that Patrick T. Stanley has been elected a Member.

Mr. Stanley is an experienced trial lawyer with a substantial background in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration proceedings. He has extensive experience in motion practice, appellate practice, jury and bench trial, arbitration and injunctive relief. He is particularly experienced in litigating first-party insurance bad faith, including disability insurance and professional liability coverage, and healthcare litigation.

In addition to his litigation background, Mr. Stanley also assists with the practice management needs of healthcare professionals. He provides consultation and representation in regulatory compliance matters, non-compete and anti-solicitation agreements, disability claim advice, employment contracts, personnel and human resources issues, employee disciplinary actions, independent contractor and managed care agreements, state licensure issues and collections.

Mr. Stanley is ranked “Excellent” by Avvo, which rates and profiles over 90% of licensed attorneys in the U.S. based on research, client reviews, lawyer disciplinary histories and peer endorsements.  Mr. Stanley has been named a “Top Attorney” by Arizona Business Magazine(Healthcare) and Ranking Arizona (Commercial Litigation).

Mr. Stanley is admitted to practice in state court in Arizona and Florida, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Districts of Arizona and the Southern and Northern Districts of Florida. He has also been admitted pro hac vice in United States District Courts in California and Alaska.

Mr. Stanley received his B.A. in History from the University of Kansas and earned his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Arizona. Since then, in addition to his busy practice, Mr. Stanley has authored or co-authored articles on a number of topics relating to both disability insurance and transportation law.



Are Non-Competition Agreements Enforceable or Not?

Disability attorney Ed Comitz recently had his article “Are Non-Competition Agreements Enforceable or Not?” published in the Winter 2010 edition of AzMedicine, the publication of the Arizona Medical Association for healthcare professionals.



In Today’s Uncertain Financial Environment, How Difficult Will It Be for You to Collect on Your Disability Policy?

Attorney Ed Comitz’s article “In Today’s Uncertain Financial Environment, How Difficult Will It Be for You to Collect on Your Disability Policy?” was recently published in the July/August 2010 edition of  The Journal of Medical Practice Management.



Why Is It So Hard to Collect on My Disability Insurance Policy?

Attorney Ed Comitz’s article, Why Is It So Hard to Collect on My Disability Insurance Policy? Avoiding Mistakes when Filing a Claim, was published by Whitehall Management in its May/June 2010 Newsletter magazine. The article explains why dentists and other healthcare professionals have such a difficult time collecting disability insurance benefits and advises against some common mistakes often made when filing a claim.



Ed Comitz – My Own Story

Living an active lifestyle has always been important to me. It was not until I suffered a severe neck and head injury that I wondered if I would ever be able to enjoy sports or be active again.

Within months of my injury, I began experiencing constant, agonizing pain in my neck and shoulder, lost manual dexterity and fine manipulation skills with my left hand, and had difficulty moving, all of which caused a precipitous decline in the quality of my life. I felt physically distressed – as if I were constantly being injured.

MRI’s revealed two large disc protrusions. From there, I embarked on a year-and-a-half journey of treatment options without success: sports medicine, physical therapy and rehabilitation programs, consults at the Mayo Clinic and throughout the country, surgical consults, multiple epidural injections (interlaminar and transforminal), facet injections, trigger point injections, massage, chiropractic, traction, Ibuprofen and muscles relaxers. Despite my unrelenting commitment to get better, my condition unfortunately progressed to the point where the entire left side of my body was enormously tense, including my hip, leg and foot. I started losing proprioception in my foot and ambulated with an irregular gait, and my functionality was becoming worse by the day.

This was enormously shocking. I then consulted with another neurosurgeon and had more MRIs, which now revealed possible spinal cord involvement. I was admitted to Barrow Neurological Institute, where I underwent a multi-level discectomy and fusion. I have spent over a year rehabilitating and the process has been self-revealing, always too slow, but with significant progress over time. I now enjoy skiing, playing tennis, hiking, biking, swimming and jogging in moderation. While I have improved exponentially since the surgery, I still have limitations and struggles, and know that my condition can be aggravated if I do not take very good care of myself.

Most of my clients are physicians and dentists, and many have conditions similar to mine. As an attorney, I can keep working – if I drop a pen or get a cramp in my side, I can take a break or stretch, then resume working.  If I were a medical professional, though, I would not be able to sustain positioning for long periods of time, each and every day, and would be concerned about patient safety.

I am strongly committed to my clients and practice, am sympathetic to physical limitations and restrictions that others may not fully understand, and use my experience to provide my clients with the results they deserve.  My firm provides representation to professionals nationwide and throughout metropolitan Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, Flagstaff and Yuma.



Solid Record With All Major Disability Insurance Carriers

Our Firm and its attorneys have resolved cases with all of the leading disability insurance companies and third-party administrators  in the country, including, among many others: Berkshire, Boston Mutual, CIGNA, Disability Management Services (“DMS”), Disability Reinsurance Management Services (“DRMS”), Equitable, First Unum, Great-West Life and Annuity Insurance Company, Guardian, The Hartford, Integrated Disability Resources, Jefferson Pilot, Liberty Mutual, Lincoln Financial, Mass Mutual, Met Life, Monarch, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual Life, Paul Revere, Penn Mutual, Provident, Prudential, Reassure America Life Insurance Company, Reliance, Royal Maccabees, Standard, Swiss Re, and Unum (formerly UnumProvident).  We have also litigated and resolved cases against third-party vendors of insurance companies, including Behavioral Medical Interventions (BMI) and PsyBar.



Planning for Possible Health Problems: How Much Disability Insurance Should You Have?

As Chris Clark writes in a DoctorPlanning.com article “Planning for Possible Health Problems: How Much Disability and Long-Term Care Insurance Should You Have?”, health problems are one of the most common reasons people retire before they intended.  But knowing how much and which disability and long-term care coverages to purchase can be complicated.  Disability attorney Ed Comitz provides some advice in Mr. Clark’s article:

Edward Comitz, an attorney who leads the health and disability insurance practice for a Phoenix law firm, recommends buying individual policies instead of the typically cheaper group ones, because employer-sponsored plans are subject to employment-law restrictions that include limits on jury awards if a claimant ends up in court fighting for benefits.

And don’t pay the premiums from the practice, he says, because an individual policy could be characterized as a group one if the practice is paying the bills.



A Disability Insurance Q-and-A

Phoenix and Tucson-area disability attorney Ed Comitz recently responded to some common disability insurance questions  for the Pima County Medical Society’s January 2010 issue of Sombrero. He answers questions doctors and other healthcare professionals often ask,  such as, “What is the difference between ‘own occupation’ and ‘any occupation’ in disability insurance?” and “Why do so many doctors’ claims get denied, and how can a law firm help?”



Ed Comitz Publishes in Anesthesiology News

Anesthesiology News (AN), the best-read publication in anesthesiology (according to Kantar Media, Media Chek®/FOCUST), is mailed monthly to all 43,983 anesthesiologists and anesthesiology residents in the United States, and offers extensive coverage of over a dozen major clinical meetings affecting the specialty. Disability insurance attorney Ed Comitz recently published his article, Disability Insurance and the Specialized Anesthesiologist, in AN.  The article focuses on the ability of subspecialized anesthesiologists to collect on their own-occupation disability insurance policies despite working in a new sub-specialty.



Ophthalmology Management:
Disability Insurance Roulette

Attorney Ed Comitz’s article, Disability Insurance Roulette:  Can You Collect on Your Policy?, was published by nationally-regarded Ophthalmology Management.  The article discusses difficulties physicians experience with collecting on their disability insurance, and how certain obstacles can be overcome.