Susan Sheehan worked as a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lowell, Mass., which was acquired by the Healthsouth Corporation. Sheehan had participated in a long-term disability (LTD) plan that Healthsouth maintained. The insurance plan was underwritten by a subsidiary of Cigna, Life Insurance Company of North America.
Before Sheehan’s LDT insurance benefits were abruptly terminated, she had been receiving benefits for more than a decade because she was suffering from multiple unruptured intercranial aneurysms. Back in 1996 and 1997, Sheehan had to have at least three craniotomies/clippings and two EG coilings. The woman has as many as 12 identified unruptured intercranial aneurisms, but 8 of them have been fixed. Shehan’s conditions caused her to have to quit working in 1997; she has been receiving benefits since 1998.
By November 2009, Sheehan was told by Cigna that her benefits were being terminated because they claimed that she was able to work full-time if she did light work or work where she was sitting most of the time. Sheehan appealed in May 2010 and provided the company with more documentation to prove her case. Her appeal was denied in December 2010. She appealed again in January of this year and was denied again in April. Sheehan, who is receiving Social Security benefits, charges that Cigna’s denial was “arbitrary and capricious; not supported by a good faith evaluation of the evidence, and that it is contrary to law.”
Cigna has been accused of bad faith practices many times, both now and in the past, due to what several courts have seen as unfair claim denials and terminations. If you have had your disability insurance benefits denied or terminated and you think that your claim was denied in bad faith, contact disability insurance attorney Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting the insurance companies and may be able to help you get the disability insurance benefits that you are entitled to.