Vacating Exhaustion Ruling, Missouri Judge Overturns Overdose Death Benefit Denial

Mealey's (January 10, 2022, 4:09 PM EST) -- ST. LOUIS — Vacating dismissal of a dispute over accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) coverage on reconsideration, a federal judge in Missouri on Jan. 3 ruled that exhaustion is not required because plan documents lack an appeal procedure and granted judgment to the beneficiary, finding no evidence that a heroin overdose death “was anything other than a fatal mistake.”...