
Practice Areas: Employee Benefits, Insurance Coverage, Personal Injury; view more
Licensed in Colorado since: 1992
Education: University of Colorado Law School
Details
Advocating for people with short- and long-term disabilities, and those with other denied insurance claims, Shawn McDermott is the founder of McDermott Law, LLC. He serves clients in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and all other areas throughout Colorado, and other states, with aggressive representation in cases that involve the following matters: bad faith claims, insurance denials, life insurance issues, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Colorado Public Employment Retirement Association (PERA) and all personal injury mattes.
After earning a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado Boulder, Mr. McDermott received a Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado Law School in 1992.
Today, with extensive insurance claim and litigation experience, Mr. McDermott has spent his entire career working on cases that involve insurance companies. He knows how both sides handle claims and how to navigate situations in which a client has been denied benefits. He has handled more than a thousand cases in his career, with more than 250 requiring litigations in both state and federal courts.
Although it would be easy to look at a case as simply facts on paper, Mr. McDermott and his highly experienced staff of attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants are more interested in getting to know clients and understanding their predicament. He seeks to understand how their lives have been affected and, more importantly, how his law firm can help.
For his accomplishments, Mr. McDermott holds an Avvo “Superb” rating and was recognized by Law Week Colorado as the Best Disability Attorney in Colorado, as voted on by the public.
Mr. McDermott is a published author and also a member of legal organizations, including the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice.
Outside of his practice, Mr. McDermott enjoys golfing, fly fishing, flying and skiing, and he loves to spend time with his wife and children.
Practice areas
Employee Benefits, Insurance Coverage, Personal Injury - General: PlaintiffFocus areas
Bad Faith Insurance, Brain Injury, Insurance, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Wrongful Death
- 70% Employee Benefits
- 20% Insurance Coverage
- 10% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1992, Colorado
Professional Webpage: https://www.colorado-disability-lawyer.com/attorney/mcdermot...
- Colorado Bar Association, Member
- American Association for Justice, Member
- Denver Bar Association, Member
- Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Young Lawyers Committee, Chairperson
- Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
- Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Member and former Board Member
- Colorado State and Federal courts
- Rivera v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America,No. 11-cv-02585-WYD-KLM, 2012 WL 2709138 (D.Colo. July 09, 2012)
- Bottoms v. Liberty Life Assurance of Boston,No. 11–cv–01606–PAB–CBS, 2011 WL 6181423 (D.Colo. Dec. 13, 2011)
- State Farm v. American Family and American Standard Ins. Co. and Eliberto Meza, Amelia Meza, Sofi Meza, Irene Meza, Rosalinda Chaparro, Flora Quintana, and Angelita Cordera,Colorado Court of Appeals No.: 06CA2667 (July 3, 2008)(Not Selected for Official Publication)
- McCord v. Affinity Ins. Group,13 P.3d 1224 (Colo. App. 2000) (NO. 99CA2118)
- Bray v. Sun Life and Health Ins. Co. (U.S.),No. 08-cv-02335-RBJ-CBS, 2012 WL 628611 (D.Colo. Feb. 27, 2012)
- Kohut v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co.,No. 08-cv-00669-CMA-MJW, 2008 WL 5246163 (D.Colo. Dec. 16, 2008)
- Jeffryes v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co.,No. 05-cv-01770-EWN-CBS, 2006 WL 1186493 (D.Colo. May 4, 2006)
- Kaferly v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 189 F. Supp.3d 1085, 2016 WL 3197375 (D.Colo. May 31, 2016)
- Croll v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. (CIGNA), and Lockheed Martin Group Universal Life Plan, an ERISA Welfare Benefit Plan, 863 F.Supp.2d 1093, 2012 WL 1439172, No. 2010-cv-0735-CMA-MEH (D. Colo. April 26, 2012)
- Bray v. Sun Life and Health Insurance,No. 08-cv-02335-WYD-CBS, 2010 WL 3341521 (D.Colo. Aug. 23, 2010)
- Hoyt v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am.,No. 07-cv-02210-LTB-KLM, 2008 WL 686922 (D.Colo. Mar. 12, 2008)
- Progressive Specialty Ins. Co. v. Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co.,148 P.3d 470 (Colo.App. 2006) October 19, 2006 (No. 05CA1161)
- University of Colorado, Bachelor of Science degree, Major: Architectural Engineering, 1988
- C.R.S. § 10-3-1116, ERISA Preemption, and the Standard of Review, Colorado Lawyer, July 2010, Vol. 39, No. 7
- The Impact of HB 1407 on ERISA Health, Life and Disability Claims, presented at HB 1407: Insurance Accountability Act Seminar, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2008
- Group Long-Term Disability Coverage and ERISA, Colorado Lawyer, May 2004, Vol.33, No.5
- Unreasonable Failure of the Liability Insurer to Defend or Settle: The Consequences, Colorado Insurance Bad Faith Law & Practice Seminar, Professional Education Systems, Inc., 1996
- Damages in Insurance Bad Faith, Lorman Education Services, 1994
- Understanding ERISA: A Trail Through the Thorny Woods of Pre-Emption, Exemptions and Exceptions, Lorman Education Services, 1994
- Work Product Immunity, Attorney-Client Privilege & Peer Review and Quality Assurance Confidentiality, Colorado Healthcare Associated Risk Managers, 1994
- McDermott, S., Employer-Provided Disability Coverage and Offsets for Other Income Benefits: The Necessary Coordination of Benefits, Trial Talk CTLA Magazine, June 2013, Vol.62, Issue 4
- McDermott, S., ERISA Claims: The Top Ten Things to Know About Claims, Appeals and Litigation, presented at Insurance Bad Faith Seminar, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, May 15, 2015
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2011 - 2025