Question

All of us who live and work in New Jersey pay the price for fraud - in the loss of jobs and profit, lower wages and benefits, and higher costs for services and insurance premiums.  It affects workers and employers alike and is committed by workers and employers alike.”

Please discuss Worker’s Compensation Fraud. Research an article related to the topic and find at least one example of where there has been fraudulent behavior in a worker’s comp claim

Answer 1

Worker’s compensation fraud occurs when an individual makes a false statement willfully or hides information for the purpose of receiving worker’s compensation benefits. It can also be done with an intention of preventing someone from receiving the benefits to which they are entitled.

Worker’s compensation fraud includes claimant fraud, employer fraud and medical or health care provider fraud.

Examples of fraudulent behavior in a worker’s comp claim are falsifying of mileage reports, exaggerating of symptoms, claiming a job-related injury that never occurred etc. A real life example from the article attached below is that a police officer was sentenced to 180 days in jail as the officer was held guilty for obtaining disability payments while still working at the Staples Center and Dodger Stadium.

Article reference:

1. Rathi, Rachna. (March 2, 2005). Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/workers-compensation-fraud

2. Retrieved from http://www.laworks.net/Downloads/OWC/wcfrauddef.pdf