Gregory Michael Dell
Top rated Employee Benefits attorney in Weston, Florida
Dell Disability Lawyers
Practice areas: Employee Benefits, Insurance Coverage; view more
Licensed in Florida since: 2000
Education: Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2017 - 2018, 2021 - 2026 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2012 - 2016 Representing clients across all stages of individual and group (ERISA) long-term disability claims, Gregory Michael Dell serves as partner and managing attorney at Dell Disability Lawyers in Weston, Florida. Focused on employee benefits and insurance coverage, he guides policyholders through initial applications, challenging claim denials, administrative appeals, federal litigation and lump-sum policy buyouts. He delivers resolute, strategic advocacy to secure essential coverage and protect claimants against powerful insurers nationwide.
An alumnus of Washington University in St. Louis with an accounting degree, Mr. Dell earned his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He honed his litigation skills as a Broward County assistant state attorney, conducting over 50 jury trials. Licensed in Florida since 2000, he is admitted across New York, Massachusetts, Texas, the District of Columbia and multiple federal district and appellate courts, pairing sharp financial insight with formidable courtroom trial experience.
Throughout his career in the civil arena, Mr. Dell has dedicated his practice exclusively to fighting formidable insurance corporations on behalf of disabled claimants. Under his steadfast leadership, his firm has successfully recovered over $2 billion in vital disability benefits for individuals nationwide. Having personally litigated against every major disability insurer in federal courtrooms across the country, he counters systemic corporate tactics with uncompromising rigor, holding large insurance carriers strictly accountable to their legal promises.
Mr. Dell’s approach blends meticulous forensic preparation with deep empathy for clients facing severe medical vulnerability. Recognizing that a sudden disability creates tremendous financial strain and emotional distress, he treats every case with individualized diligence rather than routine processing. By strategically dismantling wrongful claim denials and assembling undeniable medical and accounting evidence, he decisively levels the legal playing field against corporate giants, ensuring every claimant receives the lasting dignity, respect and financial security they deserve.
Practice areas
Employee Benefits, Insurance CoverageFocus areas
Insurance
- 90% Employee Benefits
- 10% Insurance Coverage
First Admitted: 2000, Florida
Professional Webpage: https://www.diattorney.com/dell-disability-lawyers/gregory-d...
Bar / Professional Activity
- Member, Moot Court Honor Society
- Appointed to the American Bar Association (ABA) Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Plaintiffs Policy Task Force for the 2013-2014 fiscal year
- Florida Trial Lawyers (Member, Torts and Insurance Section)
- District of Columbia Bar
- The Florida Bar
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida (2002)
- Founder, Attorneys Dell & Schaefer Charitable Foundation
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida (2002)
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida (2002)
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (2005)
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2010)
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (2012)
- New York (2007)
- District of Columbia, 2003
- Member, New York State Bar Associations
- Member, American Health Lawyers Association
- Florida, 2000
- Texas, 2009
- Member, American Bar Association Health and Disability Insurance Law Committee
- Vice Chairman, American Bar Association Health and Disability Insurance Law Committee 2011 - 2015
- Massachusetts, 2010
- Member, American Association for Justice
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Unum awards over $9,000 a month to physician following claim denial, 2010
- $1,250,000 Auto Accident (Confidential Settlement), 2009
- $2.96 million dollar jury verdict against Nationwide Insurance Company
- Unum Long-Term Disability Claim $12,500 monthly for lifetime, 2009
- Long-Term Disability Claim against Ohio National $18,600 a month until age 65, 2008
- $450,000 Long-Term Disability Claim, 2009
- $425,000 Confidential Settlement with long-term disability insurance carrier, 2010
- Multiple Seven Figure Settlements (Confidential Agreements), 2004
- $140,000 Confidential Settlement with Long-Term Disability Insurance Company, 2010
- $6,250,000 Products Liability Action (confidential), 2005
- Cigna Insurance Company resolves long-term disability lawsuit for confidential lump sum, 2010
- $1,800,000 (Wrongful Death & Products Liability) Confidential Settlement, 2009
- $950,000 Confidential Long-Term Disability Claim
- $475,000 Auto Accident against trucking company, 2009
- $650,000 Long-Term Disability Claim, 2009
- Staab v. Nationwide Insurance Company (Broward County) $2,960,000, 2004
- A general surgeon and his legal team at Dell & Schaefer win disability insurance jury trial against Unum In a federal court in Peoria, Illinois, a jury ruled against Unum Company (NYSE: UNM) and awarded more than $300,000 in disability insurance benefits the insurer withheld from a general surgeon it had claimed was capable of conducting major surgeries, despite the surgeon’s difficulty standing for more than one hour at a time. The eight-person jury, which included an employee from State Farm Insurance, headquartered nearby, ruled that Dr. Yogihn Parikh, who was a general surgeon at Hammond Henry Hospital in Geneseo, was partially disabled, and as such was entitled to long-term disability benefits Unum had withheld under the disability insurance policy that Parikh purchased from them. The case stemmed from an October 2004 claim filed with Unum by Parikh, in which the doctor, who had performed a wide range of major surgical procedures like appendectomies, colon resections and mastectomies, said that lower back pain has precluded him from performing the procedures, and thus greatly reduced his earning potential as a general surgeon. Unum denied the claim in April 2005, citing insufficient medical evidence for the claim. Subsequent to Unum’s decision, Dr Parikh performed minor and less time-consuming surgical procedures, but gradually lost the ability to perform any surgical procedures. Since November 2008, he has not performed surgery. In the year before he filed the claim, his income as a surgeon was more than $300,000; in 2008, it slid dramatically, to about $60,000. After the ruling, Parikh’s legal representative, disability insurance attorney Gregory Dell, said that his legal team will be pursuing an Illinois bad faith claim to help Parikh obtain an additional damages award up to 60% of the verdict and attorney fees in excess of $250,000. Dr. Parikh’s trial team included attorneys Gregory Denes, Gregory Dell and Cesar Gavidia. Unum had maintained that there is insufficient evidence to support Parikh’s claim for benefits, based on the opinion of one of its hired physicians, who after a 20-minute exam of Parikh opined that he had no restrictions and limitations and was capable of performing such procedures as appendectomies, gall bladder removal, colon resections, hernias, mastectomies and other abdominal surgeries. “This is a victory for Dr. Parikh, who was unfairly denied the benefits which he had paid Unum to provide in the event he was no longer able to perform his job as a general surgeon. It is also a victory for thousands of disability claimants suffering from subjective complaints of pain and the insurance companies deny their claim,” said Dell. Dell noted Parikh’s case is not unusual. It is one of a host of cases in which Unum’s practices for denying claims have been called into question. Unum has been fined millions dollars for its unreasonable and unlawful denial of disability claims. Earlier this year, a Nevada jury awarded $60 million to a man that sued Unum for a bad faith denial of long-term disability benefits. “This verdict demonstrates that Unum continues to ignore the 2004 agreement it entered into with 48 states, in which its practices for denying claims without reasonable justification were called into question,” Dell said. During trial, a Unum employee testified that one way she could verify Dr. Parikh’s back pain would be “if he had a knife in his back.” The same Unum employee testified that she did not know whether an appendectomy required a person’s skin to be cut, 2009
- Besser v. Prudential Insurance Company $386,000 (Hawaii Federal Court), 2009
- The Standard Disability Insurance Company Approves Dentist for $9,200 a month in ERISA Disability Benefits, 2010
- $1,750,000 Auto Accident (Confidential Settlement), 2007
- Long-Term Disability Claim $25,000 a month until age 65, 2008
- Long-Term Disability Claim $25,000 a month until age 65 (Met-Life), 2008
- $850,000 (Product Liability), 2007
- $200,000 Confidential Settlement with Long-term disability insurer, 2010
- $1,200,000 Confidential Long-Term Disability Claim
Representative Clients
- Gregory Dell represents claimants throughout all stages (i.e. applications, denials, appeals, litigation, & lump-sum policy buyouts) of a claim for individual or group (ERISA) long-term disability benefits
Pro bono / Community Service
- Founder of the Attorneys Dell & Schaefer Charitable Foundation
Educational Background
- B.S./B.A. in Accounting from Washington University in St. Louis, Class of 1997
- J.D. from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in New York City, Class of 2000
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Author, Florida Insurance Law and Practice, West's Florida Practice Series, Long-Term Disability Benefits, 2008
- Beware the “medical occupation” definition of total disability (Plastic Surgery Practice)
- Disability Income Benefits: The Complex Application Process (South Florida Hospital News)
- Collecting Disability Insurance Benefits is Not Like Buying a Disability Policy (The Nugget, Sacramento District Dental Society)
- What Is Long-Term Disability Insurance And Can You Collect Disability Benefits? (The Broward Centurion)
- Does State Or Federal Law Govern A Disability Insurance Claim And What Is ERISA? (Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal)
- Attorneys Dell & Schaefer Discover Undisclosed Disability Appeal Procedures and Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Prudential (The New York Times, Insurance NewsNet)
- In 2006, Mr. Dell was selected by Thomson Reuters to author a treatise on long-term disability insurance law
- Guest Speaker at the American Bar Association Insurance Conference (2016)
- Author, Treatise on Long-Term Disability Insurance Law, Nation's Largest Legal Publication Company (Thomson Reuters), 2006
Honors
- Martindale-Hubbell Peer AV Preeminent Rating & Platinum Client Champion
- Winner, Paulsen Writing Competition
- Selected to Super Lawyers and to Rising Stars in the field of Employee Benefits Super Lawyers (a Thomson-Reuters Service)
- Sun Sentinel Top Workplaces Award
- U.S. News Best Lawyers in America inclusion since 2013 in the field of Insurance Law
- AVVO’s Client Choice Award
Industry Groups
- ABA Employee Benefits Committee
- American Justice Assoc.
- Florida Justice Assoc
- Health Lawyers Assoc.
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2017 - 2018, 2021 - 2026
- Rising Stars: 2012 - 2016
