A Florida man has filed a disability insurance lawsuit against Unum Life Insurance Company of America alleging that he was denied his disability insurance benefits in a bad faith.

In this Unum lawsuit, plaintiff Steven Reese states that he became disabled in 2011 due to a genetic condition called hereditary hemochromatosis.

According to the Unum lawsuit, Reese states that Unum initially approved his disability benefits, but revoked them in 2013. Reese’s Unum lawsuit holds that this action was not justified.

Hereditary hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder that causes the body to absorb more iron than usual. The bodies of patients with this disorder absorb iron so well that the element can build to toxic levels, causing metal poisoning and interfering with organ function.

The gene is typically passed from parent to offspring, though it often does not cause problems until middle age. The gene that usually causes hereditary hemochromatosis is recessive, meaning that the person must inherit the gene from both parents.

As such, parents with only one copy of the gene do not physically or clinically show symptoms. Heart disease, as reported in Reese’s Unum lawsuit, is a known complication of hereditary hemochromatosis. This is because excessive iron can actually physically thicken the blood, forcing the heart to work harder and wear itself out.

According to Reese’s Unum lawsuit, Unum has denied his claims on the grounds that one of the several physicians who have examined Reese have declared him fit to work, specifically his cardiologist.

However, the Unum lawsuit points out that Reese’s primary care physician does not believe that Reese can return to work due to ongoing heart problems stemming form his hereditary hemochromatosis.

A doctor specializing in genetic disease concurred with the primary care physician. Additionally, Reese procured a statement from his cardiologist, clarifying his earlier statement that his cardiovascular problem no longer left him disabled, but that his primary care physician believed that his genetic condition left him disabled in and of itself.

The Unum lawsuit states that Reese pointed all of this out in various appeals, which were denied by Unum.

Reese’s Unum lawsuit is not the first to accuse the Unum Life Insurance Company of bad faith insurance denials.

In legal terms, “bad faith” means that a party is trying to avoid their legal obligations in a contract. In the case of bad faith insurance lawsuits, it often means that an insurance company is accused of denying legitimate disability benefits to patients who are disabled.

This Unum lawsuit alleges that it is an inherent conflict of interest that Unum, the party who has to pay out if Reese is disabled is also the party in the contract that gets to decide if Reese is disabled.

Reese’s Unum lawsuit seeks to reinstate the benefits of his Unum disability insurance plan, along with legal fees as well as interest on the missed payments.

The Unum Lawsuit is Steven Reese v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, Case No. 0172, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Gainesville Division.