After his Unum long-term disability claim was denied, a California man recently chose to file a lawsuit against the insurance giant, alleging that the denial was wrongful and he was owed benefits.

The plaintiff, Julio S., says he worked full-time as a receiving clerk for Whole Foods between 2006 and 2016, and worked as a Team Member in the two years prior.

He says that as a receiving clerk, his position involved regular manual labor such as receiving and unloading products from trucks and forklifts, transporting products within the store, and more. As a Team Member, he stocked shelves, transported products in the store, and performed some customer service duties. In these capacities, he says he was covered under a disability plan through Unum Life Insurance Company of America.

Unfortunately, for the past three years, Julio says he has suffered from severe back and lower extremity pain, which was caused by an injury at work in August 2015. He has since been diagnosed with lumbar intervertebral disc disease, degenerative arthrosis, and more. .

Though he attempted to return to work months later, he says he was restricted from lifting more than ten pounds. However, he quickly found that even restricted duties were too much for him to handle physically, and he says he began periodically reducing his schedule until, in March 2016, he was no longer able to perform his job at all, the complaint says.

On June 26, 2017, Julio submitted an Unum long-term disability claim for benefits from Unum under the terms of his disability plan. He says it took Unum nearly six months to provide a decision — a denial of Julio’s Unum long-term disability claim. According to the lawsuit, Unum’s denial stated, “we have determined that [Julio] is able to perform the duties of his occupation.”

Julio appeal the denial of his Unum long-term disability claim in May 2018, providing more evidence and updated medical records to assist his claim, but was again denied in July 2018.

At that point, Julio turned to litigation, alleging that Unum unfairly denied his Unum long-term disability claim. He hopes that the lawsuit will result in reinstatement of the benefits he claims he is owed under the terms of the plan.

Julio filed his Unum long-term disability claim lawsuit on Oct. 4, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Filing an Unum Long-Term Disability Claim Lawsuit

More and more plaintiffs like Julio, having been denied their Unum long-term disability claim for benefits, are turning to litigation against the insurance giant. Lawsuits allege that the company unfairly denied claims that they were rightfully owed under the terms of their insurance policies. Some lawsuits go so far as to allege that the company purposely denied the claims of countless workers suffering from disabilities in order to increase company profit and avoid paying benefits. Some former Unum employees have reported being held to a quota of denials they must issue, necessitating purposeful denial of claims made by those with legitimate claims to benefits.

If you have been unfairly denied an Unum long-term disability claim and an appeal wasn’t enough to reverse the denial, you may be able to file an Unum long-term disability claim lawsuit.

The Unum Long-Term Disability Claim Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-06103-LB, in the U.S. District Court for the San Francisco/Oakland Division of 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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