In a federal court in Peoria, Illinois, a jury ruled against Unum Company (NYSE: UNM)and awarded more than $300,000 in disability insurance benefits the insurer withheld from a general surgeon it had claimed was capable of conducting major surgeries, despite the surgeon’s difficulty standing for more than one hour at a time.
The eight-person jury, which included an employee from State Farm Insurance, headquartered nearby, ruled that Dr. Yogihn Parikh, who was a general surgeon at Hammond Henry Hospital in Genesco Il, was partially disabled, and as such was entitled to long-term disability benefits Unum had withheld under the disability insurance policy that Parikh purchased from them.