In a new lawsuit which names the Unum Group and Paul Revere Life Insurance Company as defendants, a plaintiff claims that PTSD disability benefits were denied despite all efforts to appeal the decision. The complainant, Vincent C., believes that PTSD disability benefits are due him because of his inability to perform the duties of government bond broker.

Vincent says he took out his disability policy specific to his own occupation. He argues that, although he is able to and does work in another field currently, PTSD disability benefits should be available to him because his psychiatric illness prevents him from working in his original broker occupation.

Vincent’s experience allegedly began with an earlier terrorist attack, years before September 11. According to the lawsuit narrative, the plaintiff was working on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower when terrorists attacked the facility on Feb. 26, 1993.

The attack required that he and his colleagues from the Cantor Fitzgerald Company be evacuated via a darkened and smoky stairwell. The process took several hours and threatened Vincent physically, as he had an active diagnosis of asthma. He was able to complete the evacuation using a wet tie to cover his nose and mouth.

The initial terrorist attack experience left the complainant raw with nerves, he says, and he later decided to move to another company in lower Manhattan. This company eventually moved to the 26th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower, putting him back in the venue where two terrorist piloted passenger planes would hit on September 11, 2001.

9/11 Causes PTSD

When the first plane hit the north tower, Vincent says he tried to convince all to leave immediately. He left behind all professional and personal items. He says he got an up close and personal view during this self-evacuation of numerous bodies, people jumping off the building, and the collision of the second plane into the South Tower.

While Vincent did survive the attack, unlike many of his co-workers, he says he was never the same psychologically-speaking. He says he was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), began taking anti-anxiety medication, and undergoing treatment.

He says he was paid PTSD disability benefits from September 2001 through May 2003 because his symptoms were so strong that he couldn’t travel to New York City—one of the only places where his very specific occupation could be performed at the time.

When the locations where government bond brokering expanded in 2003, he went back to work in Garden City, N.Y., through Dec. 7, 2015. Vincent says his PTSD symptoms were dormant from 2003 to 2015, but surfaced when there was a terrorist attack in Paris in early November 2015 and then a California terrorist attack a few weeks later.

Unum Denies PTSD Disability Benefits

The complainant says he is completely unable to work in his field now because that would require him to be around many of the same people that also survived the 9/11 attacks. He says he works in life insurance sales making one-seventh the salary he used to make as a government bond broker.

Unum has allegedly denied Vincent’s 2015 application for PTSD disability benefits and has maintained that decision despite all supporting documentation provided them on appeal.

Vincent claims that Unum’s denial was allegedly based upon the broad notation of an in-house physician who never examined him in person. He argues that the defendants have both breached their contract with him and operated out of bad faith.

Vincent is not alone in having been denied Unum disability benefits. Many who became disabled and were denied their benefits seek reinstatement by pursuing administrative means – but Unum may still deny those appeals. Some plaintiffs say Unum purposely denied thousands of claims to increase the company’s bottom line.

The Unum Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-10051-ALC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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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