A Jersey man has filed a lawsuit against Unum in the District Court for the District of New Jersey in Robert Garozzo v UNUM Life Insurance Company of America and RTP Technology Corporation. Plaintiff Robert Garozzo is suing to have his disability insurance benefits that he is entitled to under his long-term disability benefit plan reinstated.

Garozzo worked as a project manager for RTP Technology Corporation before he became disabled. His project manager duties included handling several projects at the same time and working in extremely stressful conditions. Garozzo participated in the company’s Employee Welfare Benefit Plan that was issued by Unum. According to the plan, RTP was the plan’s administrator and Unum was the claims administrator.

According to the plan’s terms, Unum had promised to pay disability insurance benefits to RTP employees who qualify as disabled under the plan’s definition of disabled. The plan’s terms state that you are disabled if:

“You are limited from performing the material and substantial duties of your regular occupation due to your sickness or injury; you have a 20 percent or more loss in your indexed monthly earnings due to the same sickness or injury. After 24 months of payments, you are disabled when Unum determines that due to the same sickness or injury, you are unable to perform the duties of any gainful occupation for which you are reasonably fitted by education, training or experience.”

In July 2009, Garozzo was in an accident that caused him to suffer from multiple injuries; he later developed Deep Vein Thrombosis, which caused him to need surgery to replace a Gunther Tulip Inferior Vena Cava filter. While in the hospital, he started having episodes of syncopal phenomena that was attributed to orthostatic hypotension, which is a type of high blood pressure that gets worse with prolonged standing or sitting.

Garozzo applied for disability benefits in December 2009 and was approved to receive benefits that were retroactive from September 29, 2009. But Unum reversed its decision after a review in February and March 2010 that held the company’s on-site doctor claimed Garozzo could go back to work. Unum terminated Garozzo’s benefits in April 2010 and Garozzo filed an ERISA appeal in October 2010. When his appeal was denied, Garozzo filed a lawsuit.

If your disability insurance benefits have been denied by Unum or terminated, contact disability insurance lawyer Greg Jones today for a free consultation.