Preventing Fraudulent Workers Compensation Claims

By Marie King

The Percentage Of Bogus Claims

False workers compensation claims can have a harmful effect on residential building companies. The numbers of fake claims vary from 1% to 20%, so it is not easy to obtain a solid picture of how widespread the phony claims are and what they cost business owners.

Causes Of Fraudulent Claims

The causes of fraudulent claims can be generated by a number of different motivations and situations.

Working Environment: A company needs to show that it appreciates its workers. When an organization fails to sustain a high level of morale, a discontent worker may go as far as creating an accident on the job to collect worker compensation. Businesses need not only to correct errors, but also they need to praise employees for well done work. Happy workers are less likely to file worker compensation claims.

Cheap Labor: Low salaries are good for the bottom line. However, if an owner is paying the help sub-standard wages, a laborer may file a worker compensation claim based on a non-work or fake injury to obtain free money. That individual might start a business under the table, while collecting the insurance. For a construction worker, it is easy to get jobs as a handyman, doing carpentry work, etc.

Hazardous Work Circumstances: Safety is not always the number one concern of some building contractors. Workers, who are faced with laboring at an unsafe building site, may be tempted to file for workmen comp. In a hazardous situation, it would not be hard for an employee to fake an injury. The disregard for the well being of his crew by the owner could easily motivate a worker to file the claim to gain the time to locate a job with much safer working conditions.

Getting over on the Company: Occasionally, an owner may end up hiring a worker, who finds it gratifying to pull a fast one on the company by filing a false worker compensation claim. Ferreting out that kind of person can be difficult. However, skillful interviewing techniques by the owner may uncover a job candidate with this kind of attitude

Runners: Some workers compensation scam artists, who include phony medical clinics and shady lawyers, hire runners to recruit employees to file bogus claims. Stress to workers that getting involved in this type of scam can entail serious fines and jail time. Encourage staff members to report any approaches by runners to management.

Contending With Invalid Claims

Mandate that any staff member tell management instantly about any injury on the job.

Make conversation with your employees. Learn what they are like and determine what type of principles do each have, and if the situation arises would that employee file an invalid workers comp. claim.

Train your staff in good safety behavior. Emphasize to the staff that they should not be in limited access zones, unless required by job responsibilities.

Utilize monitors to identify and rectify hazardous conditions. Monitors should also reprimand any employee, who displays unsafe behavior on the job. Foremen are automatically responsible for worker safety.

The monitor must be a knowledgeable individual, who has been given reduced duties in order to implement safety precautions. Monitors should not be supervising more than six workers, according to OSHA. Do thorough background checks. Make sure that new hirers don’t have a criminal record, which involved fraudulent crimes.

Warn your workers about how false workers compensation claims by colleagues can jeopardize their jobs and extend their responsibilities.

Give a bonus to anyone, who reports a co-worker, who has filed an unjustified worker’s compensation claim.

Check with your insurance company to find out if they employ insurance investigators to validate claims. These investigators monitor the claimant’s behavior. If the “injured” worker is performing hobbies that require an individual to be in fit physical condition or doing odd jobs that are strenuous, the investigator reports that to the insurance company. These types of reports usually result in the immediate termination of the claim.

Make sure that your insurance company utilizes medical staff and procedures to determine return to work status. If you feel one of your workers may be ready to return to work, notify the insurance company’s medical staff.

If you own a business, you are usually mandated by the state that you operate in to carry workers compensation insurance. Never do a project without worker’s compensation. Worker compensation protects you as well as your workers. Without worker compensation, you could lose your company and endanger your personal assets if an injury happens on the job.

Workman compensation claims will raise employer premiums. However, construction industry occupations are oftentimes high risk. Do not cast suspicion on a worker just because he or she has been injured on the job.

Custom Contract Insurance is committed to providing the best protection for home builders, contractors and employee through excellent worker compensation insurance Workers Compensation insurance. Our prices are excellent and well below the quotes http://tinyurl.com/6oaobbm of other insurance companies.

Custom Contract Insurance is committed to providing the best protection for home builders, contractors and employee through excellent worker compensation insurance Workers Compensation insurance. Our prices are excellent and well below the quotes http://tinyurl.com/6oaobbm of other insurance companies.

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