Unmasked Lawyer Wins Disability Benefits Battle Against Unum

A former attorney with Dickstein Shapiro LLP may be entitled to disability benefits after convincing a federal judge that Unum Life Insurance Co. of America mishandled her claim.

Unum gave somewhat different explanations when it denied her initial claim for benefits and her subsequent appeal, the judge said March 12. Because of this shift, the attorney didn’t have an opportunity to fully respond to Unum’s final reason for denying benefits, the judge said. To remedy this error, the judge gave the attorney an opportunity to present more evidence that she was disabled and entitled to benefits.

The decision comes one ...