A woman recently filed an Unum disability benefits lawsuit against one of the largest disability insurance companies in the United States, claiming that the company unfairly denied her long-term disability (LTD) benefits.

Plaintiff Jacqueline C. filed the Unum disability benefits lawsuit in California federal court against Unum Life Insurance Company of America. The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California on Feb. 6, 2018.

According to the Unum disability benefits lawsuit, Jacqueline was employed by Sutter Roseville Medical Center where she became enrolled in the company’s LTD plan. The company offered LTD benefits to her as well as the other employees. According to the terms of the plan, Unum defined “total disability” as an event in which the insured became injured or sick and “unable to perform with reasonable continuity in the usual and customary manner the material duties of her regular occupation.”

Jacqueline says she became disabled under the terms of the plan by suffering from conditions that included Hashimoto’s disease, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, cervical spine pain, sciatica, and celiac disease. The Unum disability benefits lawsuit maintains that she “has been and remains, and will be unable to perform with reasonable continuity in the usual and customary manner, the substantial and material duties of her own occupation as a Staff Nurse II or any gainful occupation for which she was qualified by education…”

Jacqueline says that she was initially approved and was paid LTD benefits. However, her benefits were terminated on Feb.24, 2017, by Unum claiming that she no longer met the disability definition under the plan. Although she began to provide additional medical evidence in support of her disability claim for LTD benefits through an appeal, Unum denied the appeal in a letter dated Jan. 4, 2018.

Filing a Unum Disability Benefits Lawsuit

An increasing number of plaintiffs, like Jacqueline, have filed Unum disability benefits lawsuit after they were denied insurance benefits under their policies. The company has faced thousands of bad faith insurance lawsuits filed by plaintiffs who were denied their long-term disability benefits. Some of these bad faith practices have allegedly included unreasonable delays in the processing of claims, underpayment of insurance benefits, and unfounded denial of insurance claims.

Although the company has had more than $10 billion in annual revenue in recent years, the company was featured in a 60 Minutes televised segment that addressed its alleged bad faith practices. During the segment, former adjusters of the company were interviewed stating that they would be rewarded by denying consumer’s disability benefits.

Additionally, physicians were also interviewed claiming that they had been fired for refusing to cooperate with the company and deny consumer’s disability benefits. The 60 Minutes televised feature aired former employees describing just how “intense” the work environment and how much pressure there was to deny consumer claims.

The Unum Disability Benefits Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-00796-JSC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The bad faith insurance attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or Unum class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Unum bad faith lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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