Texas Woman Sues Unum Life Insurance for Denying her Disability

Texas plaintiff Laura A. Aidan is suing Unum Life Insurance Company of America for wrongfully denying her long-term disability benefits when she claims she followed proper procedure in filing her claim.  Aidan alleges that Unum had denied her claim without sufficient evidence, and ignored her medical records.

Aidan worked as a Senior Software Developer for Pearson Inc. for a number of years, but had become disabled in 2011.  Due to her disability, she could no longer perform the required job functions of her position, which forced her to resign.  Under her employment benefit package, she was eligible for long-term disability benefits from her employer’s disability insurance provider, Unum.  Despite following proper claim procedure filing and submitting all required testimony and documentation, Aidan was denied her benefits by Unum on Feb. 8, 2013.

At this time, Aidan has exhausted all administrative remedies, and has been denied each time she has filed an appeal.  At no point in time did Unum give a specific reason for denying her benefits, and had failed to mention the plaintiff’s medical documents in their denial letters.  Therefore, Aidan argues that the insurance company unreasonably denied her benefits, when she is no longer able to get a similar occupation due to her disability.

So for wrongfully denying her long-term disability benefits, Aidan is suing Unum Life Insurance Company of America.  The plaintiff seeks to be compensated for each missed payments, plus interest.

Overview of Unum Claim Denial Tactics

Unum is the largest disability insurance company in the world, as well as one of the oldest insurance companies in the United States, formed in 1848.  Despite its legacy, Unum has been facing various allegations of systemically denying disability insurance to claimants, for the past two decades.   Many of these claimants have filed disability and personal injury class-action suits against the insurance company, alleging that it had practiced bad faith insurance, and for denying long term disability insurance that was supposed to come through full-time employment.

Unum claim denials have become a frequent term in recent litigation movement, and various characteristics of these claim denials have been pointed out between cases.  These characteristics are the determined tactics Unum and its partners have used to deny claims.  These tactics include but are not limited to:

•    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

Unum Litigation Movement

Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), Aidan is entitled to long-term disability benefits and a reasonable retirement plan due to her work as a full-time employee for an equitable amount of years.  By denying Aidan her benefits, Unum has broken this law; this case is still

The Unum lawsuit is Laura A. Aidan vs. Unum Life Insurance Company, Case 1:13-cv-00537-LY, in the United States District Court of Western Texas, Austin Division.

File an Unum Lawsuit Today

If you believe that you or a loved one have been the victim of a wrongful Unum Claim Denial, you have legal options.  Please visit the Unum, UnumProvident Disability Insurance Claim Denial Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.  There, you can submit your claim for a free legal review and if it qualifies for legal action, a seasoned Unum claim denial lawyer will contact you for a free, no-obligation consultation. You will be guided through the litigation process at no out-of-pocket expenses or hidden fees.  The claim denial attorneys working this investigation do not get paid until you do.