Most small business owners are rightfully concerned about the risk of workers’ compensation fraud. You see it on the news, read about it online, and are worried that someone might attempt to take advantage of the system. In reality, fraud is relatively rare. It does happen, and there are several steps you can and should…
Workers’ compensation fraud is not necessarily common, but it does happen, which is why a basic level of investigation is recommended when you suspect there is something wrong with a claim. The cost of a cursory investigation can be much less than the long-term costs of a false claim on your policy. But what should…
While it’s true that only a very small percentage of worker’s compensation claims are fraudulent, even these few can have a significant impact on businesses both large and small. For that reason, it’s important to be able to recognize the warning signs of a fraudulent claim and know what to do to protect yourself…
Whenever an accident occurs on the job, whether an injury results or not, it’s essential to get to the root causes to help prevent something similar from occurring in the future. There are many benefits to this approach, as it protects the health and safety of your employees, reduces damage and downtime due to accidents,…
A good percentage of employers have dealt with malingering at one point – or the act of exaggerating or feigning illness to get out of work. While only a small number of workers’ comp claims are fraudulent, quite a few claims (nearly 25% of all lost-time claims) are “exaggerated.” This is also known as malingering. In other…
No matter what type of business you operate, the health and safety of your employees has a direct impact on the success of your company. That’s why having a cohesive health and safety policy is such an essential part of your business strategy. The details of that policy will vary significantly depending on the industry…
If one of your workers is injured on the job, they have the right to file a worker’s compensation claim. This allows them to have their medical bills covered by your insurance company, and also to receive compensation for time lost if necessary. It’s important that all required forms be properly filled out and submitted…
Workers’ comp is not just a cost of doing business as business owners might think but rather an expense within some control. There are two simple reasons workers’ compensation costs are high. First, there are too many claims lasting too long. Second, the employer is not taking charge of the process. Following is a…
No matter what type of business you operate, the cost of carrying workers’ compensation insurance, as well as that of managing claims that arise, can be a significant burden. For that reason, it’s essential to do everything you can to avoid fraudulent workers’ comp claims. There are many steps you can take to address this…
A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges that California’s workers’ comp system discriminates against women. The suit, filed on behalf of several women and the Service Employees International Union argues cases in which women’s disability benefits were cut because medically trained evaluators, who are overwhelmingly male, blamed their health conditions, which were…