A new Unum lawsuit has been filed by an Unum policyholder, alleging the insurance company denied disability benefits in bad faith.

Th Unum lawsuit states that plaintiff Richard B. of North Carolina worked as a statistical planner and a system programmer for the Duke Energy Corporation. However, he suffered encephalitis, a serious swelling of the brain.

Encephalitis is a medical emergency, and can have a wide variety of causes, including infection, injury, allergic reaction, and others. Survivors may have permanent brain damage, and according to the Unum lawsuit, Richard continues to suffer seizures and cognitive problems from his bout of encephalitis.

Richard tried to work for a time, but in November 2011, it was clear that the after-effects of his encephalitis made it impossible for him to do his job. This led Richard to file for disability benefits through Unum, as he had an Unum disability insurance policy through his employer, the Unum claim denial lawsuit explains.

Based on his condition, the U.S. government ruled the North Carolina man disabled and awarded him Social Security disability benefits. However, Unum denied Richard’s claims in December 2012, based on a report by an in-house Unum physician. This Unum lawsuit holds that this was a bad faith insurance denial.

Unum has been the subject of numerous lawsuits alleging that the disability insurance giant has acted in bad faith. “Bad faith” is a legal term meaning that one party in a contract is trying to get out of their obligations under the contract.

In the context of insurance, it usually means that an insurance company is being accused of trying to avoid paying out on an claim. It is not the first time Unum has been accused of this by both policyholders and outside investigators like the government and the media.

In 2002, the television newsmagazine “60 Minutes” aired an exposé on allegations of bad faith by Unum. The “60 Minutes” segment included interviews with patients who alleged that Unum had denied their disability benefits in bad faith, including a surgeon who had Parkinson’s disease.

In his case, Unum used footage of the surgeon playing football in his backyard. However, the surgeon asserted that this was actually his son who looks a bit like him. Indeed, the figure in the footage appeared thinner and taller than the surgeon.

The “60 Minutes” report on Unum included an interview with a former in-house Unum physician. This doctor alleged that Unum had fired him and others after they refused to rule patients as nondisabled when they had serious medical problems. The doctor in question had filed a whistleblower and wrongful termination lawsuit against Unum at the time of the “60 Minutes” investigation.

The Unum Claim Denial Lawsuit is Case No. 0065, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division.