A plaintiff has initiated an Unum disability lawsuit based on allegations that the company improperly handled the applicant’s disability claim.

In 2015, plaintiff Brian S. allegedly became disabled due to a number of different conditions including cranial nerve IV palsy, diplopia, and damage to the epiretinal membrane.

Patients who have suffered a disabling event may rely on their company or individual insurance to support them. Many people who take up a disability policy hope they never have to use it but turn to it in their greatest time of need if an accident has happened. As alleged in the Unum disability lawsuit, however, some of these claimants are denied the insurance they paid for due to unfair practices related to approval.

These conditions allegedly caused the plaintiff to have unbalanced and distorted vision. In 2015, he was self-employed as an accountant when he initiated his Unum disability claim. The vocational consultant who was assigned the Unum disability claim stated that the role of an accountant required clarity of vision of 20 inches or less, which the plaintiff did not allegedly have.

The plaintiff’s occupation involved regular transferring of figures and records from paper materials to the computer and between various computer programs and screens.

The treating ophthalmologist involved in the Unum disability claim stated that the ability to use both eyes was permanently altered for the plaintiff and considered the loss of his eyesight only a “25% total disability”.

Even when prescription glasses were given to the plaintiff in this case, he struggled with triple or even double vision, making it difficult to identify numbers and words in print as well as on a computer screen.

The plaintiff says his work efficiency was drastically reduced as a result of the issues named in his Unum disability claim because he has to alternate between wearing multiple pair of glasses, adjusting the computer screen resolution, wearing no glasses at all or closing or covering one eye.

Frequent breaks were also needed for the greater transition time between tasks and the need to give his eyes a rest.

His hourly billable rate had to be reduced by between 25 percent to 40 percent because of the issues named in his Unum disability claim. The plaintiff alleges that he was entitled to disability benefits but was wrongfully denied.

The plaintiff submitted a claim for disability benefits in February 2016, but was informed several months later that the Unum disability claim was denied because he was not disabled according to the policy’s definition.

A re-evaluation claim request was sent to the Unum disability claim manager in November 2016, but that denial was upheld. The lawsuit filed with the Unum disability claim alleges that the company is in breach of contract.

This is not the first Unum disability lawsuit brought forward by a policy owner who alleges that the company mismanaged the assignment of policy benefits or wrongfully denied a claim. The company has been in the spotlight recently with numerous cases initiated by disability applicants who make similar arguments.

The Unum Disability Lawsuit is Case 3:18-CV-00326, filed in the United States District Court for The District of Connecticut.

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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