Why Can’t we be Tougher on WC Fraud?

Bob Wilson at workerscompensation.com has a column up this morning wondering why authorities are not tougher on fraud in our industry. He relates the story of a California claimant who claimed a work-related foot injury, but didn’t appear to be affected by the injury during his activities of daily life.

Our CompNewsNetwork ran a story earlier this week about a former California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Officer who pled no contest to felony workers’ compensation insurance fraud. He had filed a workers’ compensation claim alleging he had injured his foot while working in the prison. It appears, however, that he failed to disclose his participation in certain events and activities after the fact. Those activities included “a 50 mile hike over rugged terrain just three weeks after he reported being injured at work”.  They also included activities like rock climbing, snowshoeing, and acting in two plays with multiple performances. He also engaged in numerous extreme hikes in rugged mountainous terrain during the one year and two months he was off work collecting benefits.  Not to be satisfied with just committing fraud, he apparently felt compelled to document the endeavor, making video recordings and taking photos of many of his hikes and other activities; this ostensibly to make prosecuting his ass easier when caught.

The point is a good one. Stories like this depress the incentive to go to the lengths necessary to refer fraudulent activities to the authorities. Then everybody loses.