Mel L. Crawford

My experience with Mel Crawford was outstanding. He came highly recommended and he exceeded my expectations. He clearly communicated what to expect during the process, and it unfolded as he said it would. His detail knowledge of this niche area of the law saved the day. He was very responsive and ...listened to me all along the way. If I had tried to challenge my insurance company without him, I would have surely failed.

I went to Mel after my LTD cut off my monthly benefits. Anyone that is currently looking for a disability attorney knows how traumatic and stressful the whole process is. Mel is an exceptionally skilled, competent, and knowledgeable attorney. Following Mel's guidance, and putting my trust in his ab...ilities, he was successful in resolving my situation to my fullest satisfaction. Nothing happens fast in the LTD world. However, Mel's experience instilled a great confidence (knowing that I was doing the right thing, and going down the right path). While nothing is guaranteed in this world, being able to have confidence in anything dealing with LTD is a rare commodity and hard to come by. My family and I couldn't be happier with the way Mel conducted himself, communicated, and ultimately in the result he was able to secure. I only wish that I would have secured his services earlier on so that I could have either avoided the whole appeals process altogether or that I would have seen it coming a mile away so I would have been better prepared to contend with it when it happened. Regardless, I will now continue to retain Mel's services for my ongoing needs. I can't recommend Mel highly enough!!!

I disagreed with an insurance company for months and months about their decision to terminate my benefits. I read every word of a 900+ page case file. I wrote what I thought was an incredibly strong appeal. The insurance company's tactics were transparently manipulative, stalling, and biased. Their d...ecision forced me to do things that were not in my best interest medically. I was on the verge of giving up because it was just too much when a trusted person gave me Mel's contact information. Everything changed after that. Mel was reassuring, compassionate, and empathetic. He helped me understand that it wasn't personal. It was what insurance companies did and that this one was one of the worst of the worst. It was empowering when the insurance company asked one more blatantly stalling thing of me to be able to have Mel immediately contact them telling them that from there on out everything went through him. He wrote a second letter building on my own appeal, but based in legal precedence and without my frayed emotions. Mel is a gifted and effective writer. He had a quiet and calming demeanor with me, but his communications with the insurance company were professional but with a firm tone that left no doubt that they were no longer dealing with a person they could continue their standard practices with. Mel is clearly passionate about his work and cares very much about his clients. The insurance company seemed to double down but Mel's expertise in handling these matters allowed him to walk me through the expected reactions and possible outcomes. And we were very prepared and able to respond quickly and definitively. I was battling a huge corporation solo before hiring Mel. After hiring Mel, despite that we were a small team, Mel made us so effective against the insurance company that I feel we forced them to admit (of course, without admitting) that they had made the wrong decision initially. Ultimately, Mel brought us to a conclusion that I never could have on my own despite that I had in my original appeal accurately identified several of the shortcomings of the insurance companies decision. Despite this, their tactics had completely worn me down and without Mel I would have walked away. I absolutely felt that I was being bullied by the insurance company and felt utterly powerless to do anything about it. Mel very much helped me regain that empowerment by speaking on my behalf with his years of legal expertise behind his words. It's easy to feel like you have no options as a single person against a huge insurance company, but with Mel advocating for you, even two people can face a huge corporation that has had years to perfect their tactics of breaking people down. I believe I could have spared myself a lot of anguish if I'd hired Mel earlier.

I hired Mel Crawford to help me appeal my disability benefits which were denied. During the consultation with Mel, he explained the process of the appeal, his role and responsibilities, as well as my role and his expectations of me. He was articulate, patient and thorough during the consultation and... made sure I understood the work involved, the time involved, and the risks as well. Mel Crawford worked diligently through out my appeal. He kept me informed throughout the entire process, he stayed focused and did alot of research into my claim and all the medical records involved. There were years of medical records and Mel went over everything. I learned so much from Mel about my own disability and how to navigate effective medical treatment. Mel Crawford was successful in my case and the decision to continue my disability benefits was reinstated. Mel Crawford was so professional throughout the entire process and I always felt that he was working hard to defend my case. I highly recommend Mel Crawford to any person who needs help with their disability needs.

I have been fighting stage 4 cancer. At some point in the treatment, I become unable to work. I needed disability benefits to continue the treatment with my medical providers in Seattle, WA. Without it, I would have to go back to a community in Midwest where I probably could not count on the same qua...lity of medical care. However, the process of disability approval was so demanding, I could not respond to all that was required of me without a help of an experienced lawyer. An impressive recommendation led me to Mel Crawford. Mel called me the same day I contacted him to find out the details of the case. The discussion convinced me that he is the right person for the job, and he agreed to represent me in this case. He had to resolve ambiguities in the requests for medical information from the disability company to my medical providers, find out from the medical records departments of my providers the details of records release process and communicate them to the disability company, organize as speedy release of medical records as possible, and help speed up the review process. With his immediate reactions, he was able to prevent misunderstandings and delays that could have triggered negative response to my request. Yet he had plan in mind for that scenario too. He was also keeping me abreast of the progress throughout the process. Thanks to Mel, my disability request was approved several weeks after I hired him. Mel is an experienced and highly organized lawyer with outstanding communication skills. He represented me with utmost sincerity and dedication. His exceptional knowledge of the employee benefits law and his understanding of the complexities and pitfalls of the disability approval process were also the keys to the positive resolution of my disability request. I am grateful to Mel Crawford for representing me in this case. I am, without any hesitation, recommending Mel to anyone who needs an employee benefits lawyer.