Private Investigators  & Workers Compensation Fraud Cases

Sadly, workplace accidents happen a lot, with over half a million occurring each year in Australia alone.  Thankfully, many of those affected are covered by workers compensation insurance that pays out in the event of injuries occurring that render people unable to work. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s the one we have and for the most part it works. In New South Wales this is now run by icare but the system doesn’t seem to function like it used to in earlier incarnations.

So, why are private investigators  sometimes needed in these kinds of workers compensation claims?

What the system doesn’t take into account is those people who abuse it, making fraudulent claims and being paid large sums of money for injuries that either don’t exist or are far less severe than the claimant is making out. It’s almost ‘the Australian way’. That’s when the services of a private investigator  can be crucial in finding out what’s really going on. We find that icare are issuing less and less claims to investigators and so many more fraudulent claims aren’t being looked at.

Case Study Example : Surveillance Used

There was one workers compensation case we were involved with a few years ago where an employer had suspicions about an ex-employee who had sued for, and won a personal injury case. An ex-coworker had spotted the lady in question – someone who was supposed to now be wheelchair-bound – walking boldly through their local shopping centre.

This was relayed back to the employer and so one of our private detectives  expertly surveilled the lady for a few hours. It didn’t take long for those suspicions to be confirmed, as she was caught on camera going out for a jog in the park – certainly not something someone with major spinal injuries would ever be able to do. She was caught red handed and was dragged back through the legal system, and in the end ordered to repay a large amount of money to the employer.

Workers Compensation Surveillance – Clear Documented Evidence

After we had gathered all the evidence we needed on the unnamed lady, we presented everything to the client in a detailed report, with dates, times and clear images that cleared away all ambiguity in the case. From there, the lady’s workers compensation claim was rescinded and criminal charges were brought against her.

Sadly, far too many people believe that insurance fraud is a path to easy money, but with private investigators  to help, we work to redress this imbalance, protecting insurance providers, employers and others who have completely valid claims. False claims like this cost Australian businesses hundreds of millions of dollars per year, so it’s good to know that something can be done.

This is less so for the insurers nowadays, as the employer often bears the brunt of the claim directly, paying both for insurance premiums and worker wages whist the worker is not even coming to work.  So if  you have an employee off work on a workers compensation matter and you feel they may not be as injured or incapacitated as they claim, private investigators are a 100% legal avenues to carry out surveillance and obtain the real situation of the claimants matter.

Suspicious About the Validity of an Employee’s  Workers Compensation Claim?

In an ideal world, this kind of thing wouldn’t happen. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, so the next best thing is a structured and effective way to get to the real truth. This is just one of many personal and business matters that modern private detective  agencies are able to help with, with the full range of services we provide to be found by browsing through the rest of our website at http://www.integralinvestigations.com.au

However, if you would like to speak to us directly about a specific case, we’ll be more than happy to discuss your requirements. After a chat with a member of our friendly team, we’ll be able to recommend a suitable legal course of action that will get you the answers you require. To get in contact, simply call us on 02 9460 4988  where our team is ready and waiting to help. Alternatively, just email our lead investigator at david@integralinvestigations.com.au  and he’ll be sure to help.