Decision to Reinstate Pilot's Benefits Important for ERISA Benefits Cases

Pittsburgh, PAAn appeals court decision to restore long-term disability pay to a former airline pilot who endured a psychotic episode could be significant for future cases involving ERISA benefits, the Legal Intelligencer reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">According to the news source, the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, recently ruled that American Airlines' process of eliminating benefits had significant problems.

"The decision-making process that American applied was flawed in many aspects, demonstrating that the assessment of [the pilot's] disability was not the product of a reasoned, disinterested fiduciary," US Circuit Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote in the opinion.

The decision is important for future cases involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) because it details that in similar cases the solution is for the benefits to be reinstated, rather than a remand to the administrator of the ERISA plan, according to the news source.

ERISA, which was established in 1974, "gives participants the right to sue for benefits and breaches of fiduciary duty," according to the US Department of Labor's Web site.