201593P.pdf   04/05/2021  Ronald Bernard  v.  Kansas City Life Insurance Co.
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  20-1593
   U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Jefferson City   
   [PUBLISHED] [Wollman, Author, with Colloton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case - ERISA. Plaintiff was terminated from his position as a nurse 
   anesthetist after he admitted using fentanyl at work. He applied for 
   short- and long-term disability benefits based on addiction, and the plan 
   denied coverage on the ground plaintiff was not disabled at the time of 
   his termination. The district court determined the plaintiff was entitled 
   to benefits as his addiction rendered him incapable of performing the 
   duties of his position. Held: the plan's decision to deny benefits was not 
   supported by substantial evidence; the evidence that plaintiff made no 
   medical errors, did not seek treatment and could not determine the exact 
   date of his disability did not support the plan's determination that he 
   was not disabled before his coverage ended.