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October 23, 2008 at 11:56 AM
A disability insurer says it is appealing a mixed Social Security Disability Insurance assistance program verdict delivered Wednesday by a federal court jury in Boston.
The members of the civil jury that heard the case, United States of America ex re. Patrick J. Loughren vs. UnumProvident Corp., issued a verdict finding that a unit of Unum Group Corp., Chattanooga, Tenn., violated the federal False Claims Act in connection with 2 of 6 SSDI applications reviewed.
The Unum unit, which helps insureds seeking private disability insurance benefits file for SSDI claimants, caused the Social Security Administration $1,425 in damages per False Claims Act violation, the jury found, according to a special verdict form provided by the court.
Unum believes the 2 claims decided in favor of the plaintiff have no merit, Unum says.
“We think we will ultimately prevail upon appeal,” says Chris Collins, general counsel for Unum’s Unum US. “We are pleased that the jury sided with Unum on the majority of the claims, which we believe substantially supports our position that working Americans who pay Social Security premiums have a right to have a disability claim reviewed by the Social Security Administration.”
