A California social worker says that a debilitating gastrointestinal disorder has left her unable to work, yet she has been denied further benefits, according to a recently filed Unum disability insurance lawsuit.

Casey Fickardt says that she was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in late 2012 and subsequently applied for benefits pursuant to her employer’s long-term disability plan. According to the Unum lawsuit, Unum’s claim denial specialists initially had no issue with her claims.

Crohn’s Disease is a chronic inflammatory condition in the bowels that can lead to significant pain, malnutrition and ulcers that can lead to bleeding.

As such, she began receiving disability benefits in December 2012. However, just six months later, the insurer stopped payments and “wrongfully asserted that it was entitled to rely on the pre-existing condition limitation in denying benefits, despite the fact that Plaintiff never received medical treatment, care or services for Crohn’s Disease or took prescribed medication for that diagnosed condition during the three-month look-back period,” according to the bad faith insurance lawsuit.

Her Unum disability insurance lawyer argues that if that is the case, Fickhardt should be able to receive benefits for a further 21 months pursuant to the policy that her employer offered. Similarly to some plans, after that total of 27 months is completed, the insurer would still have to provide benefits if she was unable to work any job at all, something that happens fairly regularly with people who have debilitating conditions like Crohn’s Disease.

And as with other Unum policy holders, who have filed bad faith lawsuits and fought the company’s claim denial specialists, Fickardt has made numerous appeals regarding the determination of the medical experts that allegedly assessed her medical information and decided that she could work again.

The Unum disability insurance lawsuit is Casey Fickardt v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, Case No. 14-cv-2290, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.