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How can my business avoid suffering from workers� compensation fraud?

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Workers� compensation fraud can appear in several different forms, but the most common appearance of fraud is the filing of claims based on illegitimate injuries. Your business can reduce (or avoid altogether) fraudulent workers� comp claims by hiring the right kind of people and investigating suspicious claims.

Before you put an employee on the job, do everything in your power to ensure that this employee will not file a bogus claim. First, check an applicant�s references for evidence of dishonesty or fraud; make sure you are hiring a person of integrity. Second, train your employees on maintaining workplace safety as well as on the practice of filing a workers� comp claim. Emphasize that you take workers� comp seriously and will investigate claims to make sure they are handled appropriately.

As part of your safety training and workers� comp discussion, explain what is and what is not a justifiable claim. Injuries on the job that are caused by accident, even if the employee is at fault, are justifiable. In contrast, insurance companies will not pay out on self-inflicted injuries or injuries that an employee suffers while intoxicated, on drugs, committing a crime, or violating company policy.

Don�t become paranoid, but if an employee files a workers� compensation claim, notice any suspicious aspects. If there were no witnesses to the injury (or if the witnesses do not corroborate the filer�s story) or if the employee has no visible injuries, you might want to notify your insurance company. If the filer has recently been disciplined or was about to be laid off, consider the possibility that the employee is angry at management. Alone, these signs may mean nothing, but if several suspicious signs appear together, you should investigate for further evidence of fraud.

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