Sarah Mirando  |  March 4, 2013

Category: Labor & Employment

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Unum Benefit Denial Appealed and Settlement Awarded

By Andrea Gressman

Unum benefit settlementAnother legitimate Unum benefit claim was denied by the controversial disability insurance company. However, the Unum policyholder appealed the denial using an attorney and was awarded an undisclosed settlement. The Unum settlement marks what’s becoming a clear pattern of Unum claim denials that are only overturned after the policyholder retains the help of a Unum fraud lawyer.

Details of This Particular Unum Benefit Denial Situation

The young man at issue in this case had recently taken a job as a software engineer in downtown Manhattan in an international bank. The man’s future looked bright.

However, one October day the man was riding as a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by another car. After the accident, the man complained of neck pain and was taken to the hospital to receive an x-ray and MRI. The pain persisted in his neck and back, forcing him to take 2 weeks off from work in order to recover. However, the pain did not go away and actually became worse.

The MRI showed that the man had herniated discs in his caused by some sort of injury and bulging discs that were the result of degenerative disc disease. With the type of injuries that he had sustained the man quickly found that sitting at a desk while doing his work only caused his pain to increase. From there he requested to be allowed to work at home, which his employer agreed to. However, it didn’t matter whether the Unum policyholder worked at home or not — the pain continued. At that time he decided to file a Unum disability claim with the support of his medical care provider.

From there the man’s records were sent to Unum which provided the support necessary to validate his benefit request. From that point he started to experience numbness (paresthesias) of his left hand. He then started physical therapy and also had to experience epidural steroid injections that were very painful in order to address his pain issues.

Unum initially approved the man’s short-term benefit claim. Then they began to pay out the long-term disability benefits after 26 weeks of paying the short-term Unum benefits. However, that is when the problems with Unum began.

After paying the initial long-term Unum disability payments, Unum requested that the man have an IME (Independent Medical Evaluation) and they selected the rehabilitation physician that would be used during the evaluation. From there it was determined that the man’s injuries of the spine and neck were not limiting the man and he should be able to resume work despite his injuries. The Unum-approved IME examiner determine that either peripheral entrapment neuropathy or carpal tunnel syndrome caused the numbness of the man’s hand and that it would cause him issues due to the repetitive motion of working on a computer. But this was not enough to find that he was unable to work full-time. From there his Unum disability claim was denied.

The Unum policyholder then retained a disability insurance attorney in order to file an appeal. The Unum fraud lawyer was then able to negotiate a settlement in order get the policyholder the compensation he needed.

Filing Your Own Unum Lawsuit for Your Benefit Denial

If you have been denied by Unum for benefits you deserve visit the Unum/UnumProvident Disability Insurance Claim Denial Class Action Lawsuit Investigation page today in order to know your legal options. Speak with a Unum fraud lawyer and receive your free legal review.

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Updated March 4th, 2013

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