Unum Life Insurance Company of America is facing a new claim denial lawsuit, for allegedly denying a policyholder his Parkinson’s disease disability benefits.

This claim denial lawsuit was recently filed by a man from North Carolina, alleging the insurance company had denied his Parkinson’s disease disability benefits improperly.

Plaintiff Juan F. says he was diagnosed with the disease in 2013 and was entitled to long term Parkinson’s disease disability benefits under the terms of his policy.

According to the claim denial lawsuit, Juan had started working on a full-time basis for Market America in July 2000. After being employed long enough, Juan became eligible for short term or long term disability coverage should he ever need it. Juan says he needed this coverage when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which is a progressive nervous system disorder that impacts movement.

Early signs of Parkinson’s disease include small tremors in the hand, but can cause stiffness or slowing down hand movements. In addition, patients’ facial expression may be very minimal and their speech may become slurred.

Overview of Claim Denial Lawsuit

According to the claim denial lawsuit, this was allegedly the case with Juan who became unable to keep up with this workload at Market America.

Unable to work, Juan says he applied for long term Parkinson’s disease disability benefits and was officially declared disabled on Aug. 28, 2015. Juan says he was initially approved for Parkinson’s disease disability benefits and started receiving payments on Sept. 8. 2015.

Unum has received Juan’s medical records detailing his Parkinson’s disease, including the diagnosis and treatment summary from his treating neurologist. Juan had reportedly authorized Unum to have full access to his medical records on Oct. 19, 2015, and that this authorization would last for two years, which included his Doctor’s notes about his plans to travel.

Unum had contacted Juan for an update on his activities and medical records on Jan. 26, 2017, with Juan sending paperwork detailing five weeks of therapy in Indiana and that he was continuing to travel. Juan says he even provided his email and Skype contact to Unum, to contact him in case the insurance provider had any questions.

Instead, Unum had reportedly tried to contact Juan by telephone, which was discontinued while he was traveling.

During this time, Juan claims, Unum had begun researching his actives using his social media accounts. Unum reportedly did not contact Juan until July 25, 2017, and only after he had completed his travels for over six months.

According to the claim denial lawsuit, Unum suspended Juan’s Parkinson’s disease disability benefits in October 2017. Juan says he discovered his benefits had been terminated soon after he arrived back in the United States.

While Juan tried to appeal Unum’s termination, his efforts were denied by Unum on April 11, 2018. At this point in time, Juan says he has exhausted all administrative remedies and is seeking compensation for all missing Parkinson’s disease disability benefits.

This Parkinson’s Disease Disability Benefits Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18CV848, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

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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