PITTSBURGH – A Virginia woman alleges that she has established her disability but that her claim for benefits was wrongfully denied.
Susan Boyd filed a complaint on Oct. 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Life Insurance Co. of North America and Unilever United States Inc. citing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff worked for Unilever until December 2012. The suit states that she receives Social Security disability payments and that the defendants denied her claim in 2014.
The plaintiff alleges she requested copies of the plan documents in June and the complete claims file and medical evidence used to deny her claim. She alleges she received some of the documents but did not receive CIGNA's Blue Book or claim manuals in an alleged violation of ERISA.
The plaintiff seeks payment of her past due waiver of premium/life insurance benefits, pay $110 per day for the failure and/or refusal to provide requested plan documents, award retroactive long-term disability benefits and reinstate future benefits, court costs, interest and any further relief the court grants. She is represented by Gregory G. Paul of Morgan & Paul PLLC in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case number 2:17-cv-01311-LPL