Our client was denied short-term disability benefits by UNUM despite his symptoms of dementia and memory loss. The denial was based on UNUM's assertion that he was "ineligible" for any disability benefits because he had resigned from his job. The only problem with UNUM's assertion was that it was not true. Our client had no intention or recollection of resigning. He did not know it at the time, but he was suffering from early onset Alzheimer's. This caused him to forget where he was and what he was doing. This was later used against him by UNUM to claim he had resigned and deny him benefits.
After being retained, we were able to show that our client continued working past his "resignation" and had sought treatment for memory loss. Initially, he and his wife thought this was simply due to the stress of his job and the loss of a family member. However, after further medical evaluation and testing (including a neuropsychological exam), our client was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease.
Unfortunately, the diagnosis was not clear until after our client had left active employment due to his disabling issues. When he applied for disability, UNUM had also claimed that there was no objective medical evidence of his disability during the time of his employment.
Our law firm presented the medical evidence from our client's treating physicians that showed otherwise. We also argued case law used by federal courts in applying ERISA to convince UNUM to reverse its decision. In the end, our client was awarded full benefits of both short- and long-term disability insurance under his employer's plan. The long-term disability benefits will continue until he reaches age 65.
