A man has filed an Unum long term disability lawsuit after his benefits were terminated.

Plaintiff Barry L. says he was employed at The Tico Group, LLC in Illinois where he worked for six years as a field supervisor. He says that as part of his benefit package, he had a long-term disability policy.

Barry allegedly suffers from a congenital hip disorder that started to cause him debilitating right hip and leg pain in 2014. He says he tried changing his activities, exercise, physical therapy and pain medicines for nearly two years, but his pain was not alleviated.

As of Jan. 23, 2016, he says he was unable to work because of his disability, which also prompted him to undergo a right hip replacement surgery in February 2016. According to the Unum long term disability lawsuit, Barry has been unable to return to work since the surgery.

Barry says he submitted a timely application for long term disability benefits, and Unum told him his claim was approved on April 29, 2016.

Barry alleges Unum also directed him to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and provided him representation for that process. He says he submitted his application to the Social Security Administration on Dec. 12, 2016.

The Social Security Administration confirmed Barry was eligible for SSDI benefits, he says; he received $14,047 in past-due SSDI benefits and ongoing monthly SSDI benefits of $2,347 plus an annual cost of living adjustment.

According to the Unum long term disability lawsuit, Unum told Barry on Jan. 26, 2017 that he needed to “repay Unum $15,678.00 in overpaid LTD benefits because of his SSDI award. [Barry] fully reimbursed Unum shortly thereafter.”

Termination of Unum Long Term Disability Benefits

Barry says he underwent a Functional Capacity Examination on Dec. 1, 2017. According to his Unum long term disability lawsuit, Barry showed he was unable to physically “lift, carry, squat, bend, walk, stairclimb, and stand at a rate necessary to return to work on a full-time basis.”

Barry alleges that Unum told him on April 13, 2018 that his long term disability benefits would be terminated effective April 22, 2018, even though he purportedly had shown no physical improvement since his benefits were approved.

On Oct. 8, 2018, Barry allegedly appealed the termination of benefits by submitting an internal claim that included updated medical records and his treating doctors’ opinions. He also says he underwent another two-day Functional Capacity Examination at his own expense and submitted those results, as well.

According to the Unum long term disability lawsuit, the examining therapist did not believe Barry would be capable of “sustaining a sedentary level of work for an 8-hour day/40-hour work week.”

Barry says Unum informed him on Nov. 20, 2018 that the company was upholding its prior decision to terminate his long term disability benefits.

The Unum Long Term Disability Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-08392 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

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