Employer-Employee: Disability Benefits-Total vs. Partial Disability-Termination of Benefits

Plaintiff worked for defendant until he underwent gallbladder-removal surgery for cancer and was approved for total disability benefits. After plaintiff underwent an IME, defendant concluded that plaintiff was partially disabled and terminated his benefits when partial disability ran out. The district court granted summary judgment to defendant under an abuse-of-discretion standard.

Where plaintiff was provided with the correct definitions of total and partial disability and defendant apprised plaintiff of the reasons underlying the decision to award partial disability benefits, including substantial evidence of plaintiff’s ability to perform daily activities, defendant did not abuse discretion in terminating total disability benefits.

Judgment is affirmed.

Leirer v. The Proctor & Gamble Disability Benefit Plan (MLW No. 72414/Case No. 17-3426 – 8 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Wollman, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Fleissig, J. (Phillip A. Tatlow for appellant) (Stephanie O. Zorn for appellee)