Case: Health Care & Benefits/Long-Term Disability Benefits (W.D. Wash.)

A federal district court in Washington granted an employee’s motion for judgment on the record and denied Unum Life Insurance Company of America’s cross-motion on this ERISA action challenging the denial of long-term disability benefits for his chronic and debilitating fatigue. According to the court, the employee established his disability under Unum’s plan terms based on his regular occupation. The court said that statements of the employee’s providers, including those detailing his self-described symptoms, are reliable evidence of disability, and that Unum’s policy didn’t require that the employee provide only objective evidence to show that he was disabled.