A Mississippi woman, disabled after a car accident, wins her evidence argument Unum. Susan Greer suffered a severe car accident that rendered her disabled. Ms. Greer sued Unum Life Insurance Company when they denied her long-term disability benefits under an employee welfare benefits plan.
Unum sought to strike Ms. Greer’s additional evidence and exhibits which were provided to the Court, including:
- A document summarizing the 3,165-page claim file
- Several documents demonstrating Unum’s misconduct in handling Ms. Greer’s claim.
ERISA typically does not allow a party to introduce new evidence beyond what is in the claim file. This means that a court reviewing an ERISA disability insurance claim denial is limited to the information contained in the claim file.
The claim file typically contains things like all medical records, medical reviews, claim notes by the insurer, letters and correspondences. However, it is created and maintained by the insurance company.
In Ms. Greer’s case, she asked the court to review a summary of her large claim file, as well as documentation connected with Unum’s mishandling of her claim. Unum moved to strike this evidence as it was outside the claim file.
The Court held that the summary met the federal rules of evidence required for summaries of a voluminous writing. The Court also held that Ms. Greer’s exhibits were evidence related to the scope and impact of her claims of conflict of interest, cherry-picking, bias, and procedural irregularities by Unum. The Court concluded that this evidence was something that should have been in properly included claim file but was not due to a clerical error or some other reason.
Disability insurance is a complicated area of the law. The experienced attorneys at Dabdoub Law Firm are familiar with the tactics of insurance companies. We know how to prepare a claim during the appeal and how to litigate it in Court.
Disability Insurance Companies Have Lawyers. Shouldn’t You?
If you are facing a long term disability claim denial, you should consult an experienced disability lawyer. Our lawyers specialize in disability claims with insurance companies.
Why Us?
- This law firm has expertise in disability insurance claims;
- The firm was built to fight for people who were wrongly denied long term disability benefits;
- We have fought every major disability insurance company and recovered millions of dollars in disability benefits for clients;
- We have a proven track record of success and have major disability lawsuits that helped make new law.
Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, we do not have to be located in your state to help.
All our lawyers commit every day to helping people get disability benefits from insurance companies. Call to get help with:
- Submitting a disability insurance claim,
- Appealing a long-term disability denial,
- Negotiating a lump-sum settlement, or
- Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company.
Call us at (800) 969-0488 or contact us online for a free consultation with a disability attorney.
