A Pennsylvania plaintiff is suing Unum Life Insurance Company of America, claiming the company wrongfully denied her short-term disability benefits. Jane Doe is an alias the plaintiff has adopted to protect her identity, due to her mental condition.

According to the Unum lawsuit, Doe was originally employed at West Pharmaceutical Services as a validation engineer starting in January 2007. She worked there until her termination on Dec. 8, 2010. Doe’s benefit package as a full-time employee included long term disability benefits, and a short term disability salary continuation of $87,476 per year. Unum is the third-party provider for the short-term disability benefits, as well as the administrator for the long-term disability plan.

Doe’s job as a validation engineer required her to identify quality and plan protocols to produce quality products for the company. However, due to her medical condition, she is reportedly no longer able to perform the requirements of her occupation. The plaintiff was reportedly hospitalized five times between October 2010 and June 2011 for abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with hematometra in June 2011, and additionally suffers from severe anxiety and depression.

Allegedly due to her condition, Doe was eventually terminated from her employment. She was approved for short term disability benefits by Unum on Sept. 9, 2010. She continued to receive benefits until her termination date of Dec. 8, 2010. On the day in question, Doe reportedly received a letter from the Director of Human Resources, Mark Dunning, stating that due to “job abandonment” her short-term disability benefits were cut off.

According to the Unum lawsuit, a letter was sent to her informing her that she had been wrongfully approved to receive benefits. Additionally, she allegedly received no prior notification about her termination, and received no justifiable reason for why they denied her benefits. To this day, she has reportedly not received any disability benefits.

Doe claims that her rejection letter did not address the medical conditions referenced by her psychiatrists or her physicians. By filing this Unum lawsuit, she is hoping to reclaim lost wages, interest, plus additional damages for wrongful termination practices.

Unum Claim Denial Tactics

Unum is the oldest disability insurance company in America, and the largest disability insurance provider in the world. For years, people have been suing this insurance giant for allegedly wrongfully denying claims or using unethical tactics for claim denials. In Doe’s case, her unexpected firing automatically offset her eligibility for her disability insurance benefits. Many Unum lawsuits argue the insurance giant has been known for using deceitful tactics to retain their insurance money. The tactics Unum allegedly uses against claimants include:

• Changing policies after claims are filed (and without the authorization or knowledge of policy holders)
• Improperly investigating the claim and obtaining opinions from unqualified witnesses
• Misreading medical records, often by their independent medical examiners
• Demanding repeated requests for independent medical examinations or denying a claim without any medical examination
• Refusing to acknowledge their disability, especially mental disorders, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome
• Arguing that the claim is a pre-existing condition
• Denying a claim with the intent to wear the claimant down to a lower settlement
• Partially paying a claim for total disability
• Use of detectives, friends, co-workers and neighbors in an attempt to discredit the disability

This Unum lawsuit is Jane Doe v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, Case No. 2:13-cv-06900-PD, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.