A California woman has filed a disability insurance lawsuit against Unum Life Insurance of America for allegedly denying her insurance claim after initially approving it.

In 2012, Sandra Rae Jensen became disabled on the job. Jensen worked for Zimmer Holdings, Inc., who participated in an employer-sponsored group disability plan through Unum Life Insurance of America. Since the employer participated in an insurance disability plan, Jensen was hoping that the insurance would be there for her when she needed it, but she was wrong.

Initially, Unum honored the insurance policy, but two years later Unum denied Jensen’s ongoing benefits.

As a result of Unum’s unwillingness to honor their insurance policy for the entire duration, Jensen has filed her own Unum lawsuit in an effort to receive her due compensation.

Unum Class Action Lawsuit vs. Unum Lawsuit

People get injured on the job all the time, often causing the need for substantial time off from work or even the need to leave their job permanently. When such injuries occur, insurance policies, such as the one Jensen purchased, are often in place to help the employee rebound back or receive the necessary help while they are unable to work due to their injury.

Unum class action lawsuits are being filed now by those that were denied coverage after paying for disability insurance benefits. A class action lawsuit is a type of group legal action that allows multiple people who suffered the same injury to band together to sue the same defendant. If a class action settlement is reached, all Class Members will share in the class action settlement award equally.

As another option, a person may choose to file an individual Unum lawsuit and pursue compensation based on their individual circumstances. For example, the above lawsuit by Jensen is an individually filed lawsuit. Unlike a Unum class action lawsuit settlement, which typically places a limit on the compensation awarded to Class Members, there is no cap on the amount of damages awarded in an individual Unum lawsuit settlement. In an individual lawsuit, each settlement is awarded based on the plaintiff’s particular circumstances and injuries.