A Pennsylvania woman recently filed a lawsuit against Unum Life Insurance after having her Unum disability benefits denied. The lawsuit alleges that the denial of disability benefits was wrongful, and that the plaintiff is now owed past and ongoing benefits.

The plaintiff, Carol K., says she was an employee of Independence Blue Cross, working as a medical case manager. In her position there, Carol says she was covered under a long-term disability plan through Unum Life Insurance Company of America.

The complaint says that in Sept. 11, 2014, while employed at Blue Cross, Carol was injured in a car accident. She alleges the accident led to a number of problems, including pain, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, and difficulty concentrating.

In the following months, Carol says she went to the doctor many times for treatment of cervical and lumbar pain, neck and back pain, vision problems, and more. Carol had to cut her time at the office down to three days at the office, she claims, working from home the rest of the week due to these issues.

According to the lawsuit, multiple medical professionals found that Carol was unable to work. One doctor, neuro-ophthalmologist Dr. Eric Singman, is quoted as saying in June 2017 that “Clearly at this point patient is completely disabled by the headache and dizziness. I urge her not to try to work until we have some resolution of this situation.”

Subsequently, Carol alleges she applied for short-term disability benefits, which Unum approved through March 16, 2017. When Carol applied for long-term disability benefits, however, Unum denied the application. Carol appealed, submitting further medical evidence, but was again denied.

With her Unum disability benefits denied and all administrative paths exhausted, Carol instead turned to litigation. Carol filed her lawsuit on June 18, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Carol is not the first person to have been denied Unum long-term disability benefits. Some who have become disabled seek reinstatement of their disability benefits by pursuing all the administrative means available to them, including filing an internal appeal to reverse Unum’s decision.

However, even when a person attempts to appeal in this manner, Unum may still deny their appeal. If the appeal approach proves unsuccessful, some turn to legal means to seek the company’s claim denial reversal going forward.

This Unum disability insurance lawsuit and others like it allege that Unum has unfairly denied the disability insurance claims of plaintiffs who are qualified to receive such benefits. Some lawsuits go further, alleging that the company purposely denied the claims of hundreds of thousands of workers with legitimate disabilities for no reason other to increase company profit.

Were Your Unum Disability Benefits Denied?

If you’ve had Unum disability benefits denied that you believe you are rightly owed, you may be in a position to file an Unum lawsuit. A growing number of plaintiffs like Carol are filing lawsuits against Unum, alleging they unfairly had their Unum disability benefits denied.

The Unum Disability Benefits Denial Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-02537-JP, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The bad faith insurance attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or Unum class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Unum bad faith lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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