Unum, the world’s largest provider of disability insurance, is facing a new Unum bad faith insurance lawsuit, alleging the company denied a legitimate insurance claim from one of its policyholders.

The Unum claim denial lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Christopher Shapley, who worked as a litigation attorney for more than 35 years. However, Shapley had a history of coronary artery disease, and required heart surgery in 2006 and March 2011. His disability insurance claim stated that at the age of 60, after multiple heart surgeries, he was unable to work as a trial lawyer, as the stress and anxiety associated with this work could worsen his heart disease.

The law firm that employed Shapley offered long-term disability insurance through Unum. In 2011, after his second heart procedure, Shapley filed for long-term disability benefits from his Unum-funded insurance plan. The Unum lawsuit said the claim included statements from both Shapley’s law firm and physicians, outlining his duties and the state of his health respectively. The law firm’s statements described the high-stress duties that Shapley’s job required, and the physician’s letter stated that the physician considered Shapley fully disabled and did not expect Shapley to be able to return to work due to permanent disability.

Unum required that Shapley travel to Mississippi for an examination with an affiliated doctor. The examination took one hour, and according to Shapley’s bad faith insurance denial lawsuit, the doctor verbally stated that he agreed with Shapley’s physician. Shapley’s Unum bad faith insurance lawsuit states that the Unum doctor in Texas did not ask about Shapley’s work duties. Despite this, the physician sent in a statement to Unum stating that Shapley could return to work. In August 2011, Unum formally denied the claim. Shapley appealed the denial several times, but in September 2011, Shapley was ultimately denied long-term disability benefits.

Unum bad faith insurance lawsuits like Shapley’s are often a last resort for policyholders who have had legitimate claims denied. It has been alleged in the past by similar Unum bad faith insurance lawsuits that Unum employes a variety of tactics to deny legitimate insurance claims.

The Unum Bad Faith Insurance Denial Lawsuit is Christopher A. Shapley v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, Civil Action No. 3:14cv-517 HTW-LRA, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Northern Division.

In general, Unum claim denial lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you. Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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