Lawsuit Seeks Long-Term Disability Benefits from Unum

Massachusetts resident Mary Paulk has filed a lawsuit against Unum, alleging the insurance company wrongfully denied her long-term disability benefits.

According to the Unum lawsuit, filed July 25, 2013, Paulk was employed by Black Bay Restaurant Group and was covered by a Unum long-term disability insurance plan through her employer. During the time she was covered by the LTD plan, Paulk suffered from serious back problems that left her disabled from March 2009 to the present. Paulk applied for benefits under her Unum LTD plan, but was denied them without reason, according to her lawsuit.

The Unum Lawsuit Allegations

Paulk’s injuries began around the time of her pregnancy. She suffered damage to her backbone, spinal cord, and disks. Paulk also experienced back, neck and shoulder pain. The underlying medical issues included lumbar spondylosis with degenerative disc disease.

According to her Unum lawsuit, these injuries prevent Paulk from working, either in her trained field or any other gainful employment. Several physicians documented and attested to these injuries. Additionally, Paulk prepared a video of herself describing her injuries, which Unum required her to resend in on a different format.

In December 2009, Unum sent Paulk a letter informing her that her disability insurance claim was denied. This triggered a series of appeals. The appeals continued up until mid-2010, when Unum ruled that the appeal process was closed.

Despite Unum’s ruling, the United State Social Security Administration had determined that Paulk was disabled per their guidelines, and the lawsuit asserts that the plaintiff is disabled according to the policy’s definitions of what permanently disabled means.

The lawsuit alleges that Unum failed to honor the long-term disability policy they had with Paulk. The Unum lawsuit further alleges that the insurance benefits should have kicked in back in the summer of 2009, when Paulk was initially disabled and filed her completed disability insurance claim form.

The Unum disability lawsuit seeks a number of damages. First, it seeks reinstatement of the disability insurance payments. Additionally, the lawsuit seeks the back-dated payments, dating back to July 2009 when the initial claim was filed, as well as interest on the back-owed payments. Lastly, the lawsuit seeks attorney fees.

The lawsuit is formally titled Mary Paulk v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, Case No. Case 1:13-cv-11781-JCB, United States District Court, District of Massachusetts.

Get the Benefits You Deserve

If you’ve had a claim denied by the Unum Life Insurance Company or one of its subsidiaries, you probably feel overwhelmed. A denial from a large company like Unum can feel very final, and you may feel you have no options left after using their internal appeal system. But you need to remember that you have rights, and there are steps that you can take to regain control over your situation.

You can start by visiting the Unum/UnumProvident Disability Insurance Claim Denial Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Here, you can enter information about your situation. The information will be reviewed by a skilled disability insurance lawyer. If you have a case, you will be contacted for a free, no-obligation review of your potential case.