A Unum lawsuit alleges the disability insurance policy provider committed bad faith insurance practices in denying a claim of a policyholder.

Plaintiff Wade C. L., an Alabama resident, alleged he was wrongfully denied Unum long-term disability benefits. Wade worked as a cardiac surgeon at the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, P.C.

On Jan. 20, 2012, Wade was taken to the hospital for gram-negative sepsis, according to his Unum lawsuit. Just a day before, he was performing heart surgery. He remained hospitalized for nearly a month and was depended on ventilators multiple times during his hospitalization.

The Unum lawsuit claims the company practiced bad faith insurance by allegedly ignoring the evidence presented by Wade’s physicians and withholding information that was key to Wade’s disability insurance policy. Unum denied Wade his long-term disability benefits and “failed to provide Plaintiff with a meaningful opportunity for a full and fair review of his claim for benefits,” according to the Unum lawsuit.

The Unum lawsuit claims that Unum committed “numerous breaches and errors” while establishing Wade’s claims for disability benefits.

Wade is seeking compensation for all unpaid disability benefits, legal fees and expenses, a correction of Unum’s decision so that the disability benefits may continue, and several other rewards that the court finds appropriate.

Unum Lawsuits

Unum is one of the largest providers of disability insurance policies in the country. The company is based in Tennessee, where this and other Unum lawsuits have been filed. Countless individuals claimed they have been wrongfully denied long-term disability benefits and have accused Unum of bad faith insurance practices.

One of the common complaints raised in Unum lawsuits concerns conflict of interest. Unum is both responsible for determining whether a claimant is disabled and for paying for disability benefits. Despite several Unum lawsuits stating that their physicians provided clear evidence that entitled them to long-term disability benefits, Unum denied their claims and deemed them not disabled.

In this Unum lawsuit, Wade alleges that the disability insurance policy provider “failed to accord any weight at all to Plaintiff’s medical providers who personally examined the Plaintiff on a regular basis” and did not allow anyone to “‘peer review’ Unum’s medical consultants (essentially conducting a one-way medical review process).”

A Unum class action lawsuit investigation has also been launched.

This Unum Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-00017, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.