Former Bear Stearns VP Wins Disability Suit Against Hartford

A former Bear Stearns vice president won his lawsuit seeking disability benefits from Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co. when a Vermont federal judge ruled that the insurer terminated benefits based on a medical opinion that’s since been withdrawn.

Hartford claimed Anthony Curiale’s condition improved after a 2017 surgery, in part because he stopped using opioids and began other types of treatment. Judge William K. Sessions III of the US District Court for the District of Vermont disagreed with this logic, saying it didn’t establish that Curiale wasn’t disabled.

“The record makes clear, however, that those changes were due primarily ...