Amar Raval

Home / About Raval Trial Law / Amar Raval

Meet Amar Raval

Experience

Amar has represented hundreds of clients over the course of his 21-year legal career. He has handled long term disability claims, life and accidental death insurance claims, health insurance denials, and long term care claims. He is licensed in every state and federal court in Texas, almost every state and federal court in California, the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Advocacy

Amar has taken on every major long term disability and health insurer in pre-suit appeals and litigation in state and federal court. He knows what it takes to fight – and win.

Results

Aside from the monetary damages Amar has obtained for his clients, he helped spur a 5th Circuit decision that “affects the millions of Fifth Circuit residents who rely on ERISA plans for their medical care and retirement security”. Ariana M. v. Humana Health Plan of Texas, No. 16-20174 (5th Cir. 2017).

Biography

Amar Raval started Raval Trial Law in 2024. He focuses his practice on insurance claims and insurance litigation, working with people with claims disputes regarding disability insurance, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, long term care insurance, and health insurance denials.

Amar has worked in the legal industry since 2004, working with accomplished trial lawyer Jim Plummer for his entire career. In addition to his current work, he has also represented clients in personal injury matters. Amar is a true trial lawyer with extensive and successful experience at every stage of litigation, from filing lawsuits through appeals.

What Amar enjoys most about being a lawyer is helping people who need the help fighting their own insurance companies for the benefits they are entitled to. Policyholders have an insurance contract where their insurer made a promise and he makes sure they honor their promise.

Whether it’s disability, accidental death, health, or life insurance, he helps someone and their loved ones with nowhere else to turn because an insurance company broke its promise to them. Of what it’s like to work with Amar, his attorney peers say, “I have worked with Mr. Raval before and find him to be extremely knowledgeable and professional, and he gets the job done” and “Amar Raval is an outstanding attorney! He goes above and beyond for all his clients, peers, and community in any capacity he can. He will fight aggressively and persistently to ensure justice and maximum recoveries for his clients. I would absolutely trust him to protect me and my loved ones in health insurance, life insurance, ERISA, and all insurance related matters. He will continue the fight as far as needed into litigation. An absolute diamond of an attorney!”

Amar’s clients have left him numerous grateful online reviews, including statements such as “I had issues with receiving payment on valid, current policies after a cancer diagnosis, and received every excuse the insurance company could think of not to pay the claims. Thanks to Amar’s support, both the short-term disability and cancer policies were approved. Hiring Amar Raval to handle these horrid insurance companies will be the best decision you can make!”

Amar is licensed to practice in both Texas and California, as well in the United States District Courts for the Southern District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Central District of California, and Northern District of California. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. He graduated from Houston Baptist University with a Bachelor of Science in History and Bachelor of Science in Political Science, summa cum laude. Subsequently, he obtained his law degree from Loyola Law School in 2003.

In addition to achieving and maintaining a Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating, he has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Texas Super Lawyers (2021-2025). In 2023, he was recognized by Manage HR as one of the Top ERISA Services Providers in the country. Amar has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for his work in Commercial Litigation (2024). Amar won the State Bar of Texas Asian Pacific Interest Section’s Best Lawyer Under 40 Award in 2018. He was selected as a Texas Bar Foundation Life Fellow in 2015, an invitation-only honor he maintains to this day. Amar has also been an American Bar Association Fellow since 2025.

He is a member of the American Bar Association, American Association for Justice, Texas Bar College, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Houston Trial Lawyers Association, South Asian Bar Association of Houston, and Asian American Bar Association of Houston. He serves as the President-Elect of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association. He previously served as Diversity Vice-Chair to the Life, Health and Disability Insurance General Committee of the American Bar Association (2023-2024) and Chair of the State Bar of Texas Diversity in the Profession Committee for the 2023-2024 term.

Amar Raval

Schedule A Consultation

Practice Areas

Employment History

Education

Bar and Court Admissions

Professional Affiliations

Professional Awards

Representative Matters

2026, Dwyer v. UnitedHealthcare Inc. Co., C.A. 1-17cv-00439-RP (W.D. TX, February 9, 2026), ERISA health insurance claim in which trial court awarded over $410,000 in attorneys; fees and $87,000 in interest on case previously upheld by Fifth Circuit in 2024.
2025, McFadden v. American Financial Security Life Insurance Company, Harris County 157^th Civil District Court. Won jury trial getting reimbursement for client on denied health insurance claim, plus 20x damages in attorneys’ fees due to insurance company’s tactic to delay, deny, and defend the claim.
2025, represented client in long term disability claim with Hartford. Filed successful appeal, entitled to client to ongoing disability benefits.
2025, represented client in long term disability claim. Lawsuit involved claims for breach of contract and violations of Texas Insurance Code. Case settled for $1.5Million.
2025, represented client in Unum long term disability claim where issue was if client was disabled by injury or illness. Filed successful appeal with Unum, entitling client to lifetime disability benefits.
2025, represented client in life insurance matter where $500,000 claim was approved less than 90 days after representation.
2024, Dwyer v. UnitedHealthcare Inc. Co., 115 F4th. 640 (5^th Cir. 2024), ERISA health insurance claim in which Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of client, set forth Rules of the Road that govern ERISA claims, and remanding to District Court to award all past due benefits, interest, and attorneys’ fees. Served as local counsel. More details found here.
2023, represented client in long term disability claim with New York Life Insurance. Filed successful appeal, entitled to client to ongoing disability benefits.
2024, represented homeowners in lawsuit against former contractor. Bench trial led to seven figure judgment on breach of contract, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and fraud.
2023, represented client in health insurance claim. Once suit was filed, insurance company retroactively covered claim, reimbursed client, and paid Mr. Raval’s attorneys’ fees.
2022, represented client in long term disability claim. Once suit was filed, insurance company paid all past due benefits, put client back on claim, and paid interest and Mr. Raval’s attorneys’ fees.
2021, Accidental Death insurance claim regarding whether insured’s death after contracting COVID-19 was an accident or disease. Case settled following litigation.
2021, Midkiff v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, ERISA long term disability claim in which Court ruled in favor of client, granting all past due benefits, ordering Prudential to put client back on claim, pre-and post-judgment interest, and awarding attorneys’ fees. Served as local counsel.
Katherine P. v. Humana Health Plan, Inc., 959 F.3d 206 (5th Cir. 2020). Argued before 5th Circuit regarding how to apply the de novo standard of review in an ERISA case involving denial of health insurance benefits for serious mental illness.
- Listen to oral argument by Mr. Raval here.
- More information about the case and opinion can be found here.
- Commentary about both Katherine P. v. Humana and Ariana M. v. Humana can be found here.
2019, Benson v. MetLife, ERISA life insurance claim regarding whether client was still eligible for waiver of his life insurance premiums because he was disabled. Claim settled following litigation.
2019, represented claimant in health insurance denial regarding whether treatment was medically necessary. Settled claim favorably with insurer agreeing to pay all of Mr. Raval’s attorneys’ fees.
2018, Ariana v. Humana Health Plan of Texas, Inc., 884 F.3d 246 (5th Cir. 2018): 5th Circuit overturned 26 years of jurisprudence stemming from Pierre v. Conn. Gen. Life Ins. Co., 932 F.2d 1552 (5th Cir. 1991) and concurred with every other Circuit that applies the de novo standard of review to both legal and factual determinations, thus paving the way for the Texas ban on discretionary clauses to trigger de novo review of benefit denials of health and disability benefit claims.
- Link to panel oral argument by Mr. Raval here.
- Case summary in ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section found here.
2017, Prashant v. Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, et al, No. 4:16-CV-1459, 2017 WL 10109450 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 22, 2017): Court ruled that the Texas ban on discretionary clauses in insurance policies is enforceable because Texas should be able to regulate the insurance policies sold to its citizens.
2017, (confidential arbitration) represented claimant in confidential arbitration between former husband and wife over post-divorce asset distribution. Settled favorably on eve of hearing.
2015, Hamsher v. North Cypress Medical Center Operating Company, Limited, 620 Fed. Appx. 236 (5th Cir. 2015): 5th Circuit reviewed an appeal from former nurse insured by North Cypress over whether her employer abused its discretion in denying her health insurance claim. Court overruled District Court’s denial and granted summary judgment for Hamsher.
2015, Humana Health Plan, Inc. v. Nguyen, 785 F.3d 1023 (5th 2015): 5th Circuit reviewed a matter involving ERISA subrogation rights and clarified the rights between Plan Administrators and ERISA fiduciaries. Court remanded case to District Court to determine if Plaintiff had standing to pursue subrogation claim against Plan participant.
2012, Benson v. Hartford, ERISA Long Term Disability claim where Hartford made offer of judgment awarding all past due benefits and reinstated the claim for continuing disability status.
2010, Fuller v. Hartford, ERISA Long Term Disability claim settled following litigation.
2010, Urbanski v. Hartford, ERISA Long Term Disability claim settled following litigation.
2009, Huggins v. SunLife, ERISA Short Term and Long Term Disability claim reinstated after litigation. Lump sum payment and future benefits until age 65.
2009, Irish v. Reliance Standard, ERISA Long Term Disability claim settled following litigation.
2008, Pevey v. Lincoln Financial, Non-ERISA Long Term Disability Claim reinstated following appeal. Lump Sum payment with future benefits until age 65.
2007, Peters v. CIGNA, ERISA Long Term Disability claim settled following litigation.
2006, Johnson v. The Standard, ERISA Long Term Disability Claim settled following litigation.

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Community Involvement

Amar Raval

Biography

Trial Lawyers for the People