A new disability insurance lawsuit was filed against Unum Life Insurance Company of America in the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on July 19, 2018.

The complainant in this disability lawsuit is plaintiff Rebecca R., a citizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and resident of the City of Randolph. Rebecca is a former employee of the State Department of Public Health in the capacity of Environmental Analyst 3.

According to the factual section of the disability insurance lawsuit, Rebecca held her Unum disability insurance and faithfully paid all premiums due on the account since approximately 2002. The policyholder was the Group Insurance Commission of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Rebecca’s disability insurance lawsuit further elaborates that she was unable to continue to perform the duties of her occupation for the state as of May 19, 2014. The complainant suffered brain damage attributed in part to a craniotomy procedure. A craniotomy is a medical intervention in which part of the skull is removed to access the brain for surgical purposes. The plaintiff was also known to suffer from seizures.

On Oct. 24, 2014, according to the narrative in the disability insurance lawsuit, Unum began paying disability benefits to the plaintiff under a diagnosis of mental illness rather than attributing her symptoms to physical causes.

Under the stipulations of the policy in question, mental illness benefits are paid for two years and related diagnoses are defined as stemming from psychosis, emotional, behavioral or stress-modulating disorders.

The 24 months past and Rebecca’s benefits ceased to be paid on Aug. 31, 2016. At this point, the plaintiff filed appeals according to protocol, but her requests were denied.

In her story outlined in the disability insurance lawsuit, Rebecca claims that Unum relied upon the professional opinion of their in-house psychologist who never examined her and who has a history of attributing brain function issues to “emotional problems” rather than acknowledging the organ as capable of disease in and of itself.

The plaintiff alleges that the psychologist claimed behavioral causes and failed to attribute any of her problems to meningioma and ongoing seizures.

A meningioma is a tumor which grows on the surface membranes of the brain and—although often benign—can exert significant pressure and affect the senses. It is not uncommon to have visual disturbances, hearing loss, seizures and frequent headaches with the condition.

Rebecca filed her disability insurance lawsuit to attempt to reinstate her benefits in the face of this purportedly biased review on the part of Unum. She is bringing several counts against the defendant including Breach of Contract, Violation of Massachusetts General Law (MGL) C.93A and C. 176D; and Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing.

Rebecca is asking for a trial by jury with an award of punitive, treble and compensatory damages that includes prejudgment and postjudgment interest, costs of suit including attorney fees. She also demands full reinstatement of her disability benefits.

The Unum Disability Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-11510 in the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

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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