Denise M. was an early intervention teacher with Easter Seals in Pennsylvania until February 2012, when she injured her back. Denise’s job specifically required that she be able to lift 40 to 60 pounds as well as bending, stooping, pushing, pulling and lifting children, according to a disability insurance lawsuit.

At all times during her employment, Denise carried a disability insurance policy with Unum insurance, the largest disability insurance carrier in the nation. Denise became disabled in February 2012 as a result of severe and constant lower back pain, the Unum disability insurance lawsuit claims.

She first injured her back in August 2011 and was treated by her primary care doctor and a chiropractor. In April 2012 she reinjured her back while attempting to stop a child from falling. She was ultimately diagnosed with paracentral disc herniation with nerve root compression, and she developed persistent numbness in her right leg, the Unum lawsuit alleges.

Denise underwent an open discectomy in August 2012.

Unum initially approved Denise’s disability claim but despite ongoing medical evidence of her total disability status, Unum terminated her disability claims in October 2013, claiming that Denise’s medical providers stated she was capable of working and was able to perform the duties of her occupation.

Denise appealed the decision but Unum denied her appeal, something Denise claims was wrongfully done and motivated by a desire to save the company money. Her Unum insurance claim denial lawsuit also accuses the insurance carrier of failing to provide a full and fair review of her claim.

Thousands of people have filed Unum lawsuits for unfairly denying or wrongfully terminating legitimate insurance claims to boost company profits. For years, Unum has been accused of making payment decisions based on its bottom line. Plaintiffs have accused Unum of bad faith practices by denying claims and unlawfully discontinuing disability payments in an attempt to boost company profits.

The company’s alleged nefarious practices have resulted in a multi-state investigation and a class action lawsuit to research all claims of Unum benefit denials. The company has been reprimanded for its refusal to consider medical opinions of doctors not employed by Unum, something a court found to be illegal.

Unum’s alleged denial tactics include things like changing policies after claims are filed (without the knowledge or consent of policy holders), obtaining opinions from unqualified “experts,” improperly investigating claims, using contract medical examiners to interpret medical records, using third-party medical examiners to deny claims when policyholders did not provide a medical exam, not providing policyholders sufficient time to obtain a medical exam, requiring repeated independent medical examinations, denying a claim without any medical examination and refusing to acknowledge certain disabilities, specifically mental illness, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.