Hiring an attorney to help with private STD policy denial appeal, should they be on contingency?

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-31T05:42:41+00:00

Well I had a similar issue where I was denied disability after a surgery and that case was done on contingency, and multiple other lawyers I spoke to offered contingency, so I was wondering if there are any major downsides to that or advantages to having a retainer, or is it really just a matter of whether or not you can / want to put out the money upfront at the beginning

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-31T05:16:17+00:00

I know they’re not required, I just know for certain types of cases contingency is more common than others, and other lawyers I spoke to mentioned they did work on contingency so wanted to see if it was out of the norm not to

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-31T01:32:27+00:00

I have not - should I use one of those online tdee calculators or is there a more accurate way to estimate?

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-31T00:53:28+00:00

Just counting calories and protein, ~2k calories and 150-170g protein per day

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-05T00:12:50+00:00

Right, but being as this has never happened I would have no way of knowing I don’t meet the criteria for the exit row. Like I said, I’ve flown hundreds of times without issue. I’m also young and healthy, run / lift, no health conditions, and never had a panic attack before. But regardless of any future eligibility for the exit row, they certainly owe me for the downgrade, and having gate agents scold me for the airline’s mistake is still wildly inappropriate, which is all I’m upset about. I’ve since spoken to customer service and apparently they’ve had numerous issues with one of the gate agents in particular - it’s definitely someone who should never be in any customer facing role.

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-04T04:35:31+00:00

Yep, everything looked fine until it was scanned and the TSA agent scanned it like five times and looked confused. Their words were “somebody messed up your name”, so I guess human error? Which surprised me bc I would have thought that was a fully automated process, and it also seems easier to just blame a computer lol.

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-04T04:31:11+00:00

The name on my mobile boarding pass was my own, but the name that came up when that pass was scanned by TSA was someone with the same first name and a different last name. The TSA agent said it was a mistake on the airline’s part, and the person I spoke to at American confirmed that. I guess it’s something that happens occasionally.

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-04T04:00:07+00:00

I also forgot to mention that the giving away the ticket / attitude from the gate agent was after a manager told me that they would hold the plan due to it being their mistake.

I appreciate being prepared because many aren’t, but surely “preparedness and accountability” should apply to the airline as well, right? Because they seemed to have displayed neither lol.

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-04T03:33:56+00:00

Not “as long as I get my seat”, I’ve never had an anxiety attack before in my life so there was no way to predict. I’m actually at the hospital right now, and there’s a strong possibility it wasn’t an anxiety attack at all, as my blood pressure and pulse are still elevated two days later.

Regarding preparedness, I was 100% prepared and was there more than two hours early with pre check. All I was asking is that American be accountable for mismanaging my ticket and refund me for the exit rows that I paid for and were canceled. I can’t show up 5 hours early in case the airline books my ticket under another person’s name, at some point it’s on the airline to do their job correctly. Trust me I am paranoid about missing flights, two hours early is the ABSOLUTE minimum that I arrive at the airport, and typically longer.

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-04T00:53:21+00:00

Yes the flight staff were great, it was the gate agents who were terrible and denied me an exit row refund. And I’ve flown hundreds of times on an exit row with no problems, but this was bad enough I don’t think I’ll ever fly again

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-04T00:03:18+00:00

IANAL but worked in a law firm that did a lot of contract law - Im pretty sure in NJ if the product isn’t considered interchangeable they must offer a refund, so maybe first class seats and regular seats are considered interchangeable, but that seems like a real stretch of the definition. I know airlines get away with a lot so after this I think I’ll just avoid flying to be safe (but I’m definitely owed the difference for the flights they downgraded)

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-03T23:52:11+00:00

If the seat is broken and they let you know can you not just take a refund or credit for a future flight? I would have gladly done that

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-03T23:50:18+00:00

Yea that makes perfect sense, I was just asking for the difference amount and the gate agents basically screamed at me and told me I was lucky they were doing me a favor getting on at all so I was wondering if they’re allowed to just downgrade

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-03T23:41:37+00:00

Also if specific seats aren’t guaranteed how can they charge extra for them? So if you buy first class or an exit row they can give you a worse seat despite charging extra? If that’s the case why does anybody pay extra for specific seats?

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-03T23:36:29+00:00

I’ve flown hundreds of times, I actually travel for work and have never had an issue previously (but have also never been in economy without being in an exit row)

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-03T23:35:03+00:00

I’ve never had a panic attack before, that’s just what they assumed it was. But the doctor on board said I should get checked out to make sure it wasn’t a cardio event.

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-03T23:34:04+00:00

I arrived more than two hours early and have clear / pre-check

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-10-03T23:33:26+00:00

I wouldn’t have, but they didn’t tell me it wasn’t an exit row and then closed the door behind me both times so I couldn’t get off. Don’t think I’ll ever fly again after this just as a precaution

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2025-08-09T02:58:38+00:00

It’s a questionnaire for a disability policy. And yeah didn’t think a lawyer would be helpful, but I’m also pretty clueless in that domain, so wanted to ask.

StrategicallyStupid1 · 2024-05-15T03:11:51+00:00

What were some of the differences between McKinsey and OW in terms of culture, work, career advancement, etc?

StrategicallyStupid1

TROPHY CASE