A California woman alleges that she filed for disability benefits for Lyme disease under her Unum policy but was unfairly denied.

The plaintiff, Laura W., was employed as a Board Certified Psychiatrist. Unfortunately, Laura became disabled in 2016, making her unable to perform the full requirements of her occupation.

After months of chronic pain and other symptoms, Laura was diagnosed with Lyme disease in March 2016, meaning that she was totally disabled under the terms of her Unum coverage. Through her work, Laura was supposed to be protected by disability insurance through Unum Life Insurance Company of America.

However, she alleges that when she filed to receive her disability benefits for Lyme disease, she was improperly denied.

Laura submitted her claim for disability benefits for Lyme disease along with a statement from her physician.

At first, Laura was approved for short term disability benefits for Lyme disease in July 2016, and was even initially approved for long term benefits in August 2016. However, her claim for benefits was later denied, despite her ongoing struggle with Lyme disease and continuing pain and medical treatment.

Laura filed an appeal in response to this denial, but this, too, was denied. Having exhausted all administrative means to claim her disability benefits for Lyme disease, Laura instead turned to litigation. Laura’s disability claim lawsuit was filed on Dec. 26, 2017 in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Diego.

Filing an Unum Disability Claim Denial Lawsuit

A growing number of plaintiffs like Laura are filing disability benefits lawsuits against Unum, claiming that the insurance giant unfairly denied their disability claims to benefits that they actually qualify for under the terms of their insurance policies, often provided by employers.

This Unum lawsuit and others like it allege that Unum, as the largest disability insurance company in the country, has unfairly denied the disability insurance claims of plaintiffs like Laura who are in fact qualified to receive such benefits.

Some lawsuits even allege that the company purposely denied the claims of hundreds of thousands of workers with legitimate disabilities for no reason other to increase company profit. Former employees of Unum have reported being instructed to purposely deny insurance to people with legitimate claims to disability benefits in order to fulfill the company’s quota.

Consumers who have exhausted all recourse through applications and appeals for disability benefits may turn to filing a lawsuit over denied disability benefits, hoping to reverse Unum’s denial.

If you or someone you know has been unfairly denied long term disability benefits for Lyme disease or another disabling condition by Unum Life Insurance Company of America, you may be able to file an Unum disability claim lawsuit.

The Disability Benefits for Lyme Disease Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-02564-BEN-BGS, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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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