A plaintiff, Karen S., recently filed a disability insurance denial of benefits lawsuit against Unum Life Insurance Company of America in Texas federal court.

The plaintiff is a resident and citizen of Austin, Texas. According to the lawsuit, Karen acquired a disability insurance policy while employed at Quintiles Transnational Corp. The group disability benefits policy was issued by Unum and became effective in January 2007.

Karen was employed for Quintiles as an HMS Nurse Advisor I. However, Karen stopped working for her employer in October 2014. According to the disability insurance denial of benefits lawsuit, Karen stopped working because she began to experience disabling conditions such as migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, and osteoarthritis.

Karen alleges that she suffers from several medical conditions. These include two failed back surgeries and Hashimoto’s disease.  Hashimoto’s disease occurs when a person’s immune system attacks the thyroid.  It is the leading cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. Karen alleges that the pain she feels is so severe that it “impairs her ability to maintain the pace, persistence, and concentration required to maintain competitive employment on a full- time basis.”

Karen alleges that because of her injuries and inability to work, she filed a short-term disability claim with Unum.  Unum granted her short-term disability claim. Karen later filed for long-term disability benefits through her Unum disability plan. On Aug. 2, 2016, Karen received a disability insurance denial of benefits letter from Unum.

According to the lawsuit, Karen sought to appeal Unum’s decision.  To support her appeal, Karen obtained and turned in her past medical records to prove her inability to perform the work required by her occupation.

In the disability lawsuit, Karen also asserts that the Social Security Administration had also “issued a fully favorable decision on plaintiff’s claim for disability benefits under Title II and Title XVI of the Social Security Act, finding that plaintiff is ‘disabled’ during the relevant time- period.” Karen also alleges that she obtained opinions of her treating physicians to provide documentation of her physical limitations.

The disability insurance denial of benefits lawsuit states that regardless of Karen’s efforts, Unum “discounted the opinions of plaintiff’s treating physicians.” And Unum’s disability insurance denial of benefits decision was not overturned.

Unum Disability Insurance Denial of Benefits

Several disability insurance lawsuits have been filed against the insurance giant, alleging that the Unum unfairly denied individuals’ disability insurance benefits. Unum Insurance Company is the largest disability insurance companies in the country. They provide disability insurance to more than 17 million Americans. The lawsuits against the insurance company allege that Unum systematically denied thousands of Americans and policyholders insurance benefits.

In 2002, a plaintiff received $36 million in an Unum disability insurance denial of benefits settlement. The plaintiff had filed a lawsuit alleging he had been unjustly denied disability benefits after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.  Many other plaintiffs allege similar stories against the insurance provider.

The Disability Insurance Denial of Benefits is Case No. 1:17-cv-01017-RP, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division.

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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