Plaintiff Benjamin French is suing Unum Life Insurance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in order for him to receive long-term disability benefits according to his policy. Unum is the administrator of the policy while Time Warner Cable LLC is the sponsor.

French used to work at Time Warner as an Installation Repair Technician. He started working for the company in October 2006. According to the Unum lawsuit, he wishes that he could go back to work at Time Warner Cable, which he enjoyed.

On Jan. 8, 2008, he allegedly wrenched his right shoulder as he was trying to control a heavy ladder that had become lodged in the ice. He immediately experienced right shoulder pain with popping, snapping and grinding.

He went through an MRI and had arthroscopic repair on May 12, 2008. He was able to return to work four months after the surgery. He suffered a gradual return of symptoms and had to go through another arthroscopic surgery on May 9, 2009.

His orthopedist, Dr. David Markellos, referred French to Massachusetts General where he was found to be totally disabled.

Based on the findings, it was only fitting for French to apply for long-term disability benefits. Unfortunately, Unum denied his application. He appealed the earlier denial and exhausted his administrative remedies, according to the Unum lawsuit.

French remains totally disabled and Unum reportedly continues to refuse to pay long-term benefits.

The former Time Warner employee is requesting judgment against Unum for benefits in the amount determined to be owed. He is also seeking for a court order saying that he is entitled to the full amount of past and future benefits and all other remedies allowed and appropriate under ERISA.

The Unum lawsuit is Benjamin French v. Unum, Case No. 2:14-cv-00144-JAW, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine.

Overview of Unum Claim Denial Policies

Unum Life Insurance is the largest disability insurance company in the world. The company has approximately 17 million policy holders in America and 25 million worldwide. Despite these numbers, Unum has continually been the subject of numerous Unum lawsuits filed by jilted policyholders, because the company allegedly deliberate practiced denial tactics to dismiss claims. Unum has been accused of picking out claims that do not seem as serious, and dismissing them using third-party opinions or using a legal technicality the claimant had missed.

Other tactics Unum has been accused of illegally using against claimants include:

• Making changes to the policy without the authorization of the policyholder
• Changing policies after the policyholder’s claims are filed
• Failing to notify the recipients about these changes
• Improperly, or inappropriately, investigating a claim
• Obtaining opinions from unqualified third parties
• Having contract medical examiners read over and misinterpret medical records
• Using these third-party medical examiners to deny a claim when the policyholder did not provide a medical exam, or giving the policyholder insufficient time to obtain a medical exam