A friend of mine was a member of the jury on this trial, which ended last week. I’m having lunch with said friend tomorrow, so it will be interesting to hear the real story, unspun by the media.
Marin IJ – Jury awards $31.7 million to Novato surgeon
In the 60 Minutes coverage of the story is this paragraph:
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A number of people who worked at UnumProvident, the giant of the disability insurance business, whose clients include CBS, told us that the company’s management puts tremendous pressure on claims handlers to deny new claims and shut down existing ones. And that many UnumProvident policy holders- who are obviously disabled – are left out in the cold.
Maddening? Yes. But surprising? Not so much. The giant corporations of America are used to getting their way. So why wouldn’t UnumProvident make it its policy to deny as many claims as possible?
The $31.7 million award in this trial may seem like a lot (and certainly is to most of us), but to a company the size of UnumProvident, it’s probably just a drop in the bucket. Let’s hope this drop will cause enough of a ripple to make this corporate giant seriously re-examine its policies.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Jacquelyn Robinson // Apr 5, 2003 at 12:05 pm
I am a victim of Unum. I have been fighting since December, 2001 to have my benefits reinstated. Unum employees have used incorrect addresses, avoided phone calls, made false statements regarding their attempts to contact me and have been rude. There is no compassion or concern shown by these people. It is obvious that they operate on a “commission” basis, with total lack of humanity. Even clients who have recieved settlements from Unum report that they were not treated fairly. Unum’s first step in a case is to run a credit history on the client to make sure the individual does not have the means to put up a good fight. I have evidence that private investigator on my case was repremanded because he could produce evidence Unum requested. Like many others, I have no financial means to continue fighting.
2 R. Barbour // Apr 12, 2003 at 11:42 pm
I feel damaged and frustrated with UnumProvident’s wrongful denial of my own long-term disability case. After being awarded total disability and entitled benefits from the state of Virginia, the grossly negligent UnumProvident employees continue their wrongful denial based on “not enough subjective and objectives symptoms”, and on based their opinion on physcians who had seen me only once and briefly at that. They choose to ignore the doctors notes and calls, who I sought treatment from on a steady bases. Along with my former employer, Sentara Health Care Systems and UnumProvident, I was lied to and cheated out of rights to entitlement because I am legally disabled.
3 WENDY ROGOVIN // Sep 25, 2003 at 10:59 am
I am an attorney who is working on a class-action to assist those who have had a portion of their long-term disability benefits wrongfully-withheld from them by First Unum or one of its subsidiaries. If you are interested in contacting me to find out more about this, please email me at Wrogovin@cpny.com
4 One of Many // Dec 22, 2003 at 2:20 am
I received benefits for 5 years from Unum. After four cardiac surgeries I’ve been told that my only option is heart transplant. I’ve got other autoimmune problems in addition to the heart failure. Unum sent me to an IME who reported that I could lift 50 to 80 pounds all day forty hours a week, etc. I’m sure you get the idea. This IME carefully omitted significant lab findings in his report. Based on this my insurer terminated benefits. I’ll probably lose Medical coverage, my home and, if statistics can be believed, my life before they meet the obligations of their contract. The pain this organization has caused my family is always on my mind…strange, when you think that their product is supposed give you peace of mind if you can no longer fend for yourself. Don’t buy Disability Insurance. They count on the fact that disabled people don’t have the strength or resources to fight. Put the money you’d spend on insurance into CD’s or stock because insurance is just a pyramid scheme for Insurance company CEOs and brokers. I am not a victim but I will probably die a plaintiff.
5 fred // Feb 7, 2004 at 7:26 pm
I hear ya all on that one. I am currently looking for an insurance company, and am finding the same things,. crooked things go on there. I dont get it. Does anyone know an insurance company that will work for me, rather than rip me off. I found one site that deals with Pittsburgh insurance, do you know any others that I can check with
6 Anonymous // Jul 2, 2004 at 8:40 pm
I’ve worked for UnumProvident for 4 years. Let me just verify that they suck. While I can’t prove for certain that they wrongfully deny claims since I don’t work in the claims department myself, I can’t say it would surprise me. They are greedy and they have no idea how to manage a company, and they are reaping what they’ve sown.
7 Kerri // Oct 1, 2004 at 2:47 am
It has been over a year since Unum discontinued my disability benefits. The bank has foreclosed on my house and I don’t know what to do. I have no place to go. I have a meeting with my lawyer tuesday to discuss something with Unum, after reading all of the horror stories, and knowing how they have already treated me, I don’t expect anything positive. They paid me for 5 years and when some 5 year review came up that was it, all doctors notes, all the forms filled out could not change anything. When I requested a copy of my file from them (they have to give you) I noticed that the month my payments started they had already figured out exactly how much they were going to pay on my claim and exactly when they were going to cancel!! and they hit it right on the day!! My marriage is ending, I am trying to figure out my debts for bankruptsy, I am going to be put out of my house probably by the sherrif, I am so depressed. I know there are others that are probably in the same mess! thank-you for letting me vent, if anyone reads this please pray for me, I do have my faith and I know on my worst days God is going to do something. please add me to any prayer groups!! MY name is Kerri, thank- you in advance 🙂