HARRISBURG – A Middletown woman is contesting an insurance company's denial of her claim for disability benefits.
Donna Clarke filed a complaint on Nov. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Aetna Life Insurance Co. citing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in 2016, she became disabled due to anxiety, major depression, agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks. The suit states she applied for disability benefits but was denied in June 2017 by the defendant.
The plaintiff holds Aetna Life Insurance Co. responsible because the defendant allegedly denied plaintiff's benefits based on its claim that she did not meet the definition of disabled according to the policy. She alleges she is totally disabled as defined by the policy.
The plaintiff seeks judgment against the defendant in an amount that exceeds the jurisdictional limits of the court plus interest and court costs. She is represented by Scott M. Simon of Robert Peirce & Associates PC in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case number 1:17-cv-02009-CCC