Surveillance may sometimes be a useful tool in detecting potential insurance fraud. In a recent California case, however, video surveillance obtained by a disability insurer was insufficient to convince a judge that it correctly decided to terminate an insured’s benefit payments. The case of Fleming v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, 2018 WL 6133859 […]
A recent ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves of the Southern District of Mississippi described a history and pattern of bad-faith disability benefit claim denials. The case of Nichols v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., 2018 WL 3213618, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109526 (S.D. Miss., June 20, 2018), involved Juanita Nichols, a […]
A recent federal court ruling from Washington state was harshly critical of a disability insurer’s treatment of a benefit claimant suffering from multiple sclerosis. The case, Gorena v. Aetna Life Insurance Co., 2018 WL 2113952 (W.D. Wash., May 8, 2018), involved Sarah Gorena, who worked as a staff analyst at Boeing for more than 10 […]
A Montana federal court began a recent ruling by asking: “Who is the beneficiary of a lawsuit stemming from an ERISA employee’s misfortune? Is it the ERISA plan or is it the unfortunate employee?” The case, Rustad-Link v. Providence Health and Services and Unum Group Corp., 2018 WL 627560 (D. Mont., Jan. 30, 2018), involved […]
What does the term “own occupation” mean in disability insurance coverage? The answer to that question was recently provided by a federal court in New Jersey. The case of Patterson v. Aetna Life Insurance Co., 2017 WL 4786562 (D. N.J., Oct. 23, 2017), involved Christopher Patterson, who became disabled in 2007 following spine surgery and […]
That question was answered in a recently reported federal court ruling from Michigan, Sun v. United of Omaha Life Ins. Co., 2017 WL 3050477 (E.D. Mich. July 19, 2017). The case involved Julia Sun, who worked as a registered nurse caring for quadriplegic patients. After she injured her foot in 2010, and because she also […]