A California contractor was arrested after it was found she was manipulating the payroll by millions of dollars to avoid paying over $1 million in workers’ compensation insurance.

What You Need to Know About Workers Comp Fraud

A New York postal worker was fined and sentenced to three years probation after found lying to receive workers’ compensation benefits.

Workers’ comp fraud is a serious issue in both the public and private sectors, which ultimately means someone is stealing money. Do you think an employee is committing workers’ comp insurance fraud? Could they be lying about their on-the-job injury?

Here is your quick guide on everything you need to know about workers comp fraud, as an employee and employer.

What Are the Different Types of Workers Comp Fraud?

Workers’ comp fraud can take many different forms. Employees can commit fraud by lying about the extent of the injury they received on the job. They can lie and say they received an injury while working that they actually got during their personal time at home or somewhere else.

Employers can commit workers’ comp fraud by either not having workers’ comp insurance, re-categorizing employees as independent contractors so the insurance premium is lower, or misleading and lying to workers about job safety.

Health care providers can be complicit with either employers or employees in committing workers’ comp fraud. They can tack on unnecessary treatments so that they can bill workers’ comp insurance.

They can encourage an employee to file for a workers’ comp suit to cover the exaggerated medical bills.

What Are the Penalties for Committing Workers’ Comp Fraud?

Penalties for committing workers’ comp fraud can be stiff. Depending on the severity and money involved, you can be sentenced to jail. You can also face stiff fines that you would be on the hook for.

If you’re an employee and the health care provider exaggerated your injuries, be prepared. You could still be in trouble, even if it wasn’t technically your fault.

How Can You Catch Someone Committing Insurance Fraud?

So, you suspect someone at your company might be committing insurance fraud? Your employer could be manipulating payroll for lower premiums. Or they might not be paying your rightful workers’ compensation. It might be an employee lying about their injuries in order to receive monetary benefits.

If you suspect someone is committing workers’ comp fraud, consider hiring a private investigator. Insurance claims investigations can shed light on different types of workers’ comp fraud ongoing at your company and help bring them to justice.

Looking for More Info on Insurance Fraud and Legal Issues?

Workers comp fraud is unjust and outright unfair. Workers’ compensation is meant to protect workers’ safety. When anyone abuses that protection, they deserve to be held accountable by the law.

Hopefully, you have learned how to spot workers’ comp fraud and know the steps to take after reading this article.

If you are looking for more articles on workers’ compensation and legal issues, be sure to follow along for more on the latest legal trends and insights.

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