Unum Life Insurance Company faces a woman’s recent ERISA disability lawsuit alleging that she was unfairly denied long-term disability (LTD) insurance.

Plaintiff Whitney G. filed the ERISA disability lawsuit in California federal court on March 28, 2018.

According to the ERISA disability lawsuit, Whitney was employed by Arsin Corporation and was covered by a disability insurance plan through Unum. However, during the course of her employment she says that she suffered a disability that rendered her disabled under the terms of her disability plan. She says she ceased work at Arsin on Nov. 28, 2002.

After making a claim to Unum for LTD benefits, Unum approved her claims until Jan. 30, 2017. However, alleges the ERISA disability lawsuit, the company then terminated her benefits. Although she attempted to appeal that decision, Unum upheld that denial.

Unum is being accused of failing to provide Whitney a reasonable explanation for her LTD denial and termination. The company is also being accused of failing to provide her a “full and fair review” of her claim.

Whitney says that she has exhausted all administrative remedies to help appeal her LTD benefits under the ERISA.

Filing an ERISA Disability Lawsuit

Whitney’s filing of a long-term disability claim is not a solitary occurrence. Many consumers have filed an ERISA disability lawsuit against Unum accusing the corporation of unfairly denying the LTD claims. Unum is being accused of constantly placing profits over patient safety, health, and benefits by choosing to unfairly deny their claims.

Unum Life Insurance Company is a Fortune 500 insurance company based out of Chattanooga, Tenn. It runs four primary operating centers (Tennessee, Maine, Massachusetts, and South Carolina) and 35 sales offices through the U.S. According to Vault.com, Unum more than doubled its net income to $867.10 million, in 2015. Cash flow from operations that year increased to 1.2 billion.

However, there have also been thousands of bad faith insurance claims filed against the company.

Bad faith practice allegations have included that the company allegedly underpays insurance benefits, denies claims in error, and unreasonably delays claim processing. The TV show 60 Minutes documented the company’s bad faith practices.

The television segment interviewed former employees of the company. They claimed that one of the company’s goals was to solely close out claims and that adjusters would be rewarded for denying consumer disability benefits. The 60 Minutes segment also aired an interview with a physician who claimed that he was fired for refusing to cooperate with the company and deny disability benefits to injured patients. Another claimant on the show was a former eye surgeon who developed Parkinson’s disease.

Although three physicians had ruled the doctor unable to perform surgery because of his condition, a video of the doctor playing football in the backyard had been used by Unum to discount the physician’s claims. It turned out that it was actually the surgeon’s son in the video. Former employees were also aired. They described being under “intense” pressure to deny claims at Unum.

The ERISA Disability Lawsuit is Case No. 5:18-cv-01907-SVK, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.

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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