Unum’s Renewed Disability Benefit Denial Passes Muster on Appeal

Unum Life Insurance Co. of America properly terminated the disability benefits of a payroll company worker with neck pain, weakness, and fatigue, the Fifth Circuit held Thursday.

The insurer’s decision was based on evidence from at least four health-care professionals, including two treating providers who cleared the employee for sedentary work, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said in an unpublished opinion. The worker pointed to a report from a vascular surgeon describing her as experiencing severe and disabling pain every day, but the same provider also reported that her symptoms and pain were largely alleviated, ...