Unum Plaintiff Awarded Attorneys’ Fees in Wrongful Claim Denial Lawsuit

Tanya Mondolo had been diagnosed with leukemia and received chemotherapy to treat the disease. She developed avascular necrosis, a type of bone death, from the chemotherapy treatments. She also suffers from fibromyalgia. Due to these conditions, she cannot sit for long periods of time and she has trouble walking. Despite her serious health problems, Unum denied her disability payments.

In 2011, Tanya Mondolo filed a lawsuit against Unum under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In January 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in her favor, finding that Unum had improperly denied her insurance benefits. The court found that the insurance company did not adequately investigate her insurance claim. The judge ordered Unum to reinstate her benefits with interest. At that time, the judge found that Mondolo’s Unum lawyers could file a motion to recover attorneys’ fees.
On April 2, Mondolo was awarded nearly $120,000 in attorneys’ fees. Her lawsuit is just one of many Unum lawsuits filed by plaintiffs who allege that the insurance company wrongfully denied disability benefits to clients who needed them.

Unum’s Legal Troubles

Unum, an insurance company based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the largest disability insurance provider worldwide. It is a Fortune 500 company that provides disability, accident, critical illness and life insurance. Nearly 40 percent of Americans’ disability policies are handled by Unum. The company became subject to scrutiny in 2002, when the CBS television show 60 Minutes aired a segment about wrongful Unum disability claim denials. In this segment, several plaintiffs’ attorneys claimed that the company had established quotas for closing claims. They also claimed that employees were rewarded for closing claims.

In 2008, the American Association of Justice listed Unum as one of the “Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America.” Employees of the company have also come forward, complaining that they were retaliated against for bringing up concerns about wrongful denials of benefits.

Numerous plaintiffs have sued Unum, claiming that the insurance company failed to adequately investigate their claims and wrongfully denied them disability benefits. They allege that the company provided financial incentives to employees who denied claims. Other plaintiffs claim that Unum encouraged doctors to falsely claim that clients were not disabled so that the company could deny disability benefits. Many of these claims have been successful, requiring Unum to pay thousands of dollars in settlements.

Take Legal Action against Unum

If you believe you have wrongly been denied a Unum disability claim, visit the Unum/UnumProvident Disability Insurance Claim Denial Class Action Lawsuit Investigation page today. When you submit information about your claim denial, a Unum lawyer will conduct a free case evaluation to determine whether you qualify to file a Unum lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit may be the only way to get your benefits reinstated. Many plaintiffs have won thousands of dollars after filing a Unum lawsuit.