A Texas woman has filed a Unum claim denial lawsuit against the disability insurance company and her former employer after she was repeatedly denied long-term disability benefits.

Plaintiff Judy A. is suing Unum Life Insurance Company of North America and her previous employer Ingersoll-Rand Company, alleging that she has been wrongfully denied disability benefits and has exhausted all other means to appeal the denial.

According to the Unum disability insurance lawsuit, Judy developed carpal tunnel as a result of working at Ingersoll Rand’s TRANE Carrier Plant. The plaintiff claims that it is a permanent disability and she should have been covered under her employer’s long-term disability insurance plan through Unum.

The Unum lawsuit states that plaintiff was awarded disability benefits through the Social Security Disability Insurance program, but has been continuously denied long-term Unum disability benefits.

The plaintiff is seeking financial compensation for the unpaid disability benefits she claims to be owed.

Unum Bad Faith Insurance Denial

Nearly 40 percent of all disability insurance policies are covered through Unum, making it one of the largest insurance companies in the nation. Each year, more than 17 million Americans pay a portion of their paycheck to Unum for disability insurance coverage just in case they become permanently disabled they can rely on some sort of income, if they are no longer able to work.

Despite its popularity, Unum has been accused by thousands of plaintiffs over the years for engaging in what is referred to as “bad faith insurance” practices. 

Unum policyholders have reported the following bad faith insurance practices that the disability insurance company has participated in:

• Omitting records to record reviewers when it would show a claimant as disabled
• Claims representatives who take favorable opinions of nurses over physicians when it comes to disability reports
• Misreading medical records in order to deny claims
• Refusing to acknowledge their disability
• Investigations that are performed by biased and sometimes unqualified “experts”
• Changing policies once claims are filed (and without the authorization or knowledge of policy holders)
• Demanding repeated requests for independent medical examinations or denying a claim without any medical examination or reasonable explanation
• Partially paying a claim for total disability and then denying the same claim at a subsequent date

Unum Bad Faith Insurance Lawsuit

Thousands of Unum lawsuits have been filed by plaintiffs like Judy who ask the court to step in, and require Unum to pay for long-term disability benefits.

In general, bad faith insurance lawsuits not only seek the money plaintiffs are owed by the Unum’s denial, they also accuse the disability insurance company of wrongfully denying benefits.

Many Unum settlements have awarded plaintiffs hundreds of thousands of dollars and in some cases even millions. If you were denied Unum long-term disability benefits, contact an Unum attorney to find out if you have legal claim.

The Unum Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-01387-JRG-RSP, in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas.