An Ohio woman recently filed a lawsuit against Unum Life Insurance Company of America, alleging a denied claim for benefits that were rightfully and legally hers.

The plaintiff, Barbara C., is a former employee of Ohio State University, and through OSU, was covered under a group disability insurance policy from Unum. Barbara worked as a medical assistant for OSU for several years, but she alleges that in February 2008, she became disabled due to sever back pain, preventing her from doing her work. An MRI of her spine showed fluid buildup, as well as a wedge compression fracture.

In response, she filed a claim for short-term disability benefits. These benefits were granted to her according to her policy. When the short-term benefits period was over that May, Unum reassessed to determine her eligibility for long-term disability benefits.

After determining that Barbara was unable to perform the functions of her job because of her back pain, she was granted long-term disability benefits. Two years later, she was required to show that she remained disabled from performing the functions of any job, and continued to be granted her long-term disability claim. Her benefits were extended through December 2023, according to a letter from Unum.

Her claim was reviewed annually through 2015. Finally, Barbara says, a nurse employed by Unum reviewed Barbara’s file came to the conclusion that she was able to perform full-time employment as long as it was sedentary. Based on this opinion, and despite several previous reviews of her claim, Barbara received a denied claim for benefits from Unum.

Barbara’s doctor submitted further evidence in response to her denied claim for benefits, but Unum held to its denial.

Barbara says she has attempted to appeal her denied claim for benefits, but has been repeatedly refused. Instead, she has now turned to litigation. Barbara filed her Unum lawsuit on Jan. 22 for breach of contract and bad faith.

Filing an Unum Denied Claim for Benefits Lawsuit

A growing number of plaintiffs like Barbara are filing denied claim for benefits lawsuits against Unum, claiming that the insurance giant unfairly denied their disability claims to benefits that they actually qualify for under the terms of their insurance policies, often provided by employers.

This Unum lawsuit and others like it allege that Unum, as the largest disability insurance company in the country, has unfairly denied the disability insurance claims of plaintiffs like Barbara who are in fact qualified to receive such benefits. Some lawsuits even allege that the company purposely denied the claims of hundreds of thousands of workers with legitimate disabilities for no reason other to increase company profit. Former employees of Unum have reported being instructed to purposely deny insurance to people with legitimate claims to disability benefits in order to fulfill the company’s quota.

Consumers who have exhausted all recourse through applications and appeals for disability benefits may turn to filing a lawsuit over denied disability benefits, hoping to reverse Unum’s denial.

If you or someone you know has been unfairly denied long term disability benefits by Unum Life Insurance Company of America, you may be able to file an Unum disability claim lawsuit.

The Unum Denied Claim for Benefits Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-00056-GCS-EPD, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of the Southern District of Ohio.

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.

Learn More