A clinical nurse recently filed an Unum lawsuit alleging the insurance company improperly denied her claim for disability benefits.

Plaintiff Candace C. alleges in the the Unum lawsuit that she had a legitimate disability but was cut off from her deserved short-term disability benefits.

In doing so, Northwestern Memorial Healthcare ignored the opinions of its own staff doctors, who had already certified Candace as disabled.

The lawsuit further claims that Unum Insurance was also attempting to avoid paying Candace’s long-term disability benefits by terminating her short-term claim for disability insurance.

Candace was employed as a clinical nurse at Northwestern Memorial Healthcare until May 28, 2015, when she experienced so much persistent abdominal pain that she could no longer work.

According to her disability benefits policy, her occupation falls under the medium physical exertion job category.

Candace’s disability benefits plan states that being disabled means “that you are limited from performing the material and substantial duties of your regular occupation due to your illness, injury or maternity leave. You also need to be under the care of a physician.”

Furthermore, Candace asserts she was unable to continue performing these “material and substantial duties” because of her chronic pain, and is even limited in the daily tasks she can complete, including cleaning, groceries, laundry, and social activities.

Under Northwestern’s disability benefits plan, Candace should have been eligible for disability benefits, the lawsuit alleges.

Indeed, Unum initially granted the plaintiff’s short-term claim for disability insurance between May 28, 2015 and August 2, 2015.

However, Unum quickly reversed this decision. On August 18, 2015, Unum informed Candace that it had terminated her disability benefits on August 2, 2015, despite never having informed her that it needed further proof of her disability.

Candace appealed this decision, submitting new information that Unum then ignored, the lawsuit claims.

On January 15, 2016, Candace underwent an examination to determine her functional capacity. The test found that she could not sit or stand for more than ten minutes, and could not walk for more than 0.2 miles.

Because a clinical nurse must be constantly standing and walking, the exam concluded that she was only able to perform sedentary work, and was therefore unable to continue her work as a clinical nurse.

Unum Disability Benefits Lawsuits

Unum Life Insurance Company is facing a rising number of Unum disability benefits lawsuits from plaintiffs like Candace. These lawsuits claim that Unum has made a practice out of improperly denying people’s legitimate disability benefit claims.

Some injured parties who have decided to file lawsuits against Unum have gained thousands or in some cases even millions of dollars in settlement money.

If you or someone you know has been denied disability benefits or other insurance by Unum or its subsidiaries, you may be able to file a Unum lawsuit.

The Unum Disability Benefits Lawsuit is Case No. 1:16-cv-04388, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Illinois.