Host v. First Unum Life Ins. Co., No. CV 18-11504-DPW, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2021 WL 5040354 (D. Mass. Oct. 28, 2021) (Judge Douglas P. Woodlock).
Disability benefit rulings in ERISA cases are often very dry affairs. The cases are highly factual, and most cases consist of a battle between the claimant’s doctors
This week we just couldn’t choose between two cases in which ERISA plan participants were told that they could not qualify for benefits, despite serious medical conditions documented by their doctors.
The first case, Ovist v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., No. 20-1464, __ F.4th __, 2021 WL 4304547 (1st Cir. Sept. 22, 2021) (Before Circuit Judges Lynch and Selya, and District Judge Joseph N. Laplante), involved the denial of a claim for disability benefits.
Some disabilities are easier to identify and measure than others. In cases where the primary disabling symptoms include pain, weakness, or fatigue, insurers often battle with their insureds over whether those symptoms exist, and if so, how debilitating they are.
Continue Reading Downright Unreasonable: Two Circuits Uphold Benefit Denials
Dwyer v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Am., No. 19-4751, 2021 WL 2853250 (E.D. Pa. July 8, 2021) (Judge Gerald Austin McHugh).
The court reviewed Unum’s denial of Colleen Dwyer’s long-term disability (LTD) benefits under the de novo standard of review and determined that plaintiff had shown by a preponderance of evidence that she was disabled under the terms of her plan and was entitled to retroactive reinstatement of her benefits.Continue Reading Court Slams Unum for Disability Denial for Double Amputee