Unum Lawsuit Settlement Reached After 14-Year Battle

Unum Lawsuit Settlement Reached After 14-Year Battle

By Andrea Gressman

After 14 years of going through the legal process, a Unum lawsuit between the controversial disability insurer and a surgeon and urologist has finally been settled. The root of the matter dates back to 1996 when the plaintiff, a doctor with the title “Urologic Surgeon-Urologist,” suffered from ankle pains which prevented him from performing surgery because he could not stand on his feet for long periods of time. He held long-term disability insurance from Unum and filed for total disability. Unum, as they are notorious for doing, denied the claim.

The Unum claim denial lawsuit subsequently filed by the doctor wound its way through the legal system for several years until a jury concluded that the urologist was due $1,006,380 for his disability benefits from October 1, 1996 and December 1, 2004. While the jury reduced the amount Unum had to pay by $114,000 because they felt Unum had already paid that amount, the Unum lawsuit wasn’t done yet.

The Unum lawsuit plaintiff disputed that the $114,000 had been paid by Unum and it was later found that the jury had made an initial mistake in the figures and that Unum had only paid $83.474, which increased the amount owed to the plaintiff by Unum up to $922,906. On top of this large award issued to the Unum policy holder, the Court added several additional awards including prejudgment interest of $498,340, an award representing the return of premium benefits of $28,810 and an award from a “waiver of premium” benefit in the original policy based on the amount of time the jury believed the plaintiff was disabled.

Even after all this time, the Unum fraud lawsuit was not yet settled. Unum filed several motions asking for a new trial and a declaration of a mistrial. All of these were denied.

This follows a pattern of controversial business practices by Unum which include denying legitimate claims, delaying the settling of lawsuits pending, and hurting their customers in the name of cutting costs and increasing profits. Despite all the recent bad publicity, Unum has continued a strong financial turnaround, surpassing analysts’ expectations in terms of profit.

Sadly, most Unum policy holders that have been wrongly denied benefits by Unum do not have 14 years to wait before they receive compensation. This is exactly what Unum is counting on. They know that if they can outlast the Unum policy holder’s complaint that they will pay little to nothing to the disabled Unum policy holder. That is why it is so important that you find a quality Unum lawsuit attorney to represent you if you too have become a Unum victim.

File a Unum Fraud Lawsuit Today

Unum lawsuits have continued to be filed for nearly 2 decades. If you have been the victim to Unum’s unfair practices you are not alone. Visit the Unum/UnumProvident Disability Insurance Claim Denial Class Action Lawsuit Investigation page right away to speak with a Unum lawsuit attorney and receive your free of consultation.