A new Unum lawsuit was recently filed in San Diego federal court for breach of contract and bad faith insurance denial. This Unum lawsuit is one of thousands filed against Unum for unfairly denying insurance benefits in order to boost profits for the company.

The Unum lawsuit was filed mid-March by David F., a San Diego resident. According to the Unum lawsuit, David became insured under an Unum disability benefits policy while an employee of Darden Restaurants. While covered under the Unum policy, David became disabled and submitted a proper claim for benefits under his policy but his claim was allegedly improperly denied by Unum. David’s Unum lawsuit alleges claims for breach of contract and requests a jury trial. Due to the number of subsidiaries Unum has working under its control, David’s Unum claim denial lawsuit left many defendants unnamed until further discovery could reveal all the subsidiary companies who are also allegedly at fault.

About Unum’s Claim Denial Policy

Umum is the country’s largest disability insurance company, and was established over 165 years ago. Almost 40 percent of disability policies are handled by Unum or one of its subsidiaries. Unum is a large Fortune 500 company based in Chattanooga, Tenn., but has offices all over the United States.

In 2002, the television news show “60 Minutes” broadcasted a documentary uncovering Unum’s corporate policy for denying valid disability claims. According to past employees, the company set a monthly claim denial quota and then rewarded claims adjusters who met their goal for denied claims. A physician for the company also disclosed that Unum told in-house doctors to review claimants’ medical records and falsely claim that the claimant was not disabled. Since the “60 Minutes” broadcast, Unum has faced an onslaught of both individual lawsuits and class action lawsuits for wrongful denial of disability.

Unum provides policies under a variety of names including Unum Provident, Unum Life Insurance Company of America, New England Life Insurance Company, John Hancock Financial, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Equitable Life Insurance Company, and many others.

Overview of Unum Lawsuits

Attorneys are currently looking for potential Unum disability lawsuits. In 2002, a former eye surgeon was awarded a $36 million settlement when a jury found Unum unfairly refused the plaintiff’s disability payments.

Even earlier in 1996, another former surgeon who was denied disability benefits, even though he could no longer stand for long periods of time due to ankle pain, filed a lawsuit against Unum. After several years of litigation, he was eventually awarded nearly $1.5 million.

Unum lawsuits seek monetary damages for fraud, breach of contract and attorneys fees. Hopefully awards for these damages will help victims pay past debts and provide necessary income for future living expenses. Unum victims with potential insurance claim denial lawsuits can choose to file an Unum lawsuit individually or join an Unum class action lawsuit. Potential plaintiffs should seek the guidance of qualified Unum lawyers in order to determine what type of disability insurance lawsuit is the best for them.

The Unum Bad Faith Insurance Lawsuit is Case No: 15-cv-0612 GPC BLM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.