A woman is suing Unum Life Insurance Company of America after the company allegedly improperly denied her Unum disability claim.

Plaintiff Sheela J. is seeking relief under ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) that includes a reinstatement of her disability benefits as well as back payment of all benefits she was owed, including interest.

As part of her employee benefit plan, Sheela was entitled to disability benefits under Unum Life Insurance Company of America through her employment in Maryland.

In her Unum disability claim lawsuit, Sheila claims that she suffers from “foot fractures, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, degenerative disc disorders of the neck and back, radiculopathy, insomnia, knee pain and derangement among other conditions in addition to chronic pain, fatigue, cognitive impairment, and other conditions, symptoms, and impairments.”

The plaintiff was working as a Client Manager at her place of employment and became disabled on April 23, 2014, according to her claim. She states that her short-term Unum disability claim was subsequently denied the following month.

Following the initial appeal, Sheela states that she obtained counsel and filed a comprehensive appeal in October that included additional information on her medical status, functional capacity, vocational ability and additional evidence.

In January 2015, Sheela’s appeal was denied.

Sheela applied for long-term disability benefits through Unum and was paid for those benefits in July 2015 under reservation of rights.

Four months later, the Unum disability claim for long term disability benefits was denied.

Following the denial of long-term benefits, Sheela filed a comprehensive appeal in November 2015 which was denied the following month.

After exhausting all of her available appeals directly to Unum, Sheela filed a lawsuit against the company for a denied Unum disability claim under ERISA.

The plaintiff is asking for the court to review the denial of benefits from her Unum disability claim and declare that she is entitled to all benefits including the payment of back benefits with interest.

Sheela is also seeking reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs for attempting to reinstate her benefits and secure her previous benefits as well as any other relief that the Court deems just and proper.

Filing an Unum Disability Claim Lawsuit

If you have disability insurance with Unum and you receive a denied Unum disability claim for either short-term or long-term disability benefits, you must first exhaust all of your appeals that are available by appealing directly to Unum.

Once you have filed all eligible appeals and have subsequently been denied, at that point you may be eligible to file an Unum disability claim lawsuit to begin or reinstate your benefits as well as receive payment for any benefits you are entitled to in the past, with interest.

It is important to keep very detailed documentation of all of your correspondence with Unum and keep copies of any information that you send to Unum as part of your Unum disability claim and any Unum disability claim appeals.

An experienced Unum attorney can review your case at no charge and can assist you in determining your legal options after you have exhausted the Unum administrative appeals process.

The Unum Disability Claim Lawsuit is Case No. 8:16-cv-02653, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.