Posted on 07/20/2018 5:39:37 AM PDT by reaganaut1
After nearly two decades on the force, former LAPD Officer Jonathan Hall ended his career the way many veteran officers do these days, claiming job-related injuries across most of his body.
With the help of a boutique Van Nuys law firm that specializes in workers’ compensation cases for cops and firefighters, Hall filed claims saying he’d injured his knees, hips, heart (high blood pressure), back, right shoulder — even his right middle finger.
The ailments had existed for months, in some cases years, and had not previously prevented him from working, Hall said in a recent interview. But he was burned out, the target of an internal affairs investigation and desperate to avoid going back to the station.
“I just couldn’t put the uniform back on,” Hall said.
Hall’s timing raised suspicion, and he was soon videotaped leading scuba dives and lifting heavy equipment despite the alleged injuries.
But he’s far from alone in asserting that so many parts of his body had been injured on the job.
In fact, claims involving at least five injured body parts have become by far the most common in California, according to a Times data analysis of millions of workers’ compensation cases spanning nearly three decades.
In the past, injuries to a single body part — a knee, a shoulder, the lower back — were the most prevalent, the data show.
That changed abruptly in the mid-2000s when then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pushed through legislation that drastically lowered the amount that can be paid out in benefits for each injured body part.
Lawyers for injured workers responded by simply increasing the number of body parts per claim, said Paul Young, an attorney who was a partner at two high-profile Los Angeles-area law firms that represent cops and firefighters.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
It’s fun to search, in youtube, “insurance fraud” and “insurance scam”.
It’s one reason I now have a dash cam and ALL truck drivers should have them.
Well Arnold never was too bright.
I ran a factory from 1994-1996 and I had one guy who worked in the production department that also had a side business in excavation. One day, he claimed he suffered a back injury and went out on Workmen’s Comp. That’s a huge hit, depending on the length of time. 2wks, 2 months, 6 months were all points where the premiums and deductibles bumped up significantly.
The guy was out for two months when we got suspicious, so John Hancock insurance sent out an investigator and caught him re-roofing his house. We cut him off and the company pressed criminal charges. All the other slackers quickly got the message.
The LA Times is just figuring this out?
I knew people who pulled these scams when I was a kid, more than 40 years ago. Most got the idea from their unions.
It is an easy, permanent money stream.
Used to work with people who did work comp claims. Favorite story was a dude claimed hurt. We took him to court. When we rolled in the video tape his attorney stood up and asked for a meeting with the judge. They withdrew their claim. And we got the money back he’d been paid.
Wish we’d require mandatory recertification of those claiming disability from the government. Betcha more than half can work.
Had a deadbeat in our office go out on neck & shoulder claim. One month later filmed competing in state dart tournament. Shortly thereafter brought up on federal comp fraud charges. Crooks are stupid.
In Cali, everybody gets on the gravy boat. Where there’s a will, there’s a government program.
Yep.
I used to work with a former Marine who claimed disability. He left the USMC and worked as a truck driver for years, then said the USMC wrecked his back. He got 15% disability, but fought like hell to being it to 70%. Then he took a job as a reserve police officer. His back didn’t seem to hurt anymore, but those checks keep coming.
Excuse me, but that should have been Gov MARIA Schwarzenegger. After Arnold put up his reforms for a vote and lost, Maria was the real Governor.
Common as dirt and criminally wrong.
Guy down the road retired on disability from PD.
He plays all dat. Goes by here on his harley frequently. Asked for work but only to drive tractor with stipulations. Told him to get lost in so many words.
What a crook.
I have to say, I went to a veteran service center here in TX for assistance getting an evaluation of a knee that needed replacement. They did that, but also asked me what else I might possibly have gotten as a result of my service. I ended up with 10% for tinnitus, 100% for the knee replacement (dropped to 30% after convalescence) and they’re now evaluating a low back situation. All are legitimate, and part of me says I bought those benefits with the 30 years I served, but it still seems like whining.
Comments from other vets?
Same with SSI benefits. You can’t turn someone in without giving the SS dept. all your information. Until that practice is stopped, these fakers will continue to rip of the taxpayers.
The rotten part of this is that it effects workers who have been hurt and cannot go back to the job they used to have
In Georgia the employer’s insurer usually asks for that about every six months
I had the misfortune to work with a guy that collected forty some percent VA disability.
A bad wrist, fell when drunk off post.
He was the coach of a very successful American Legion Baseball team.
He claimed they would pay any percent of disability he asks for, The reviews become more frequent at 50%.
Have not seen him in years and still have a strong dislike.
Scum.
This pisses me off. I had to retire a year and a half early due to medical disability. Affected my take home. I’m getting by, but not like I’d like to. I wear a leg brace and can only walk or stand for short periods.
CC
I sure wish we’d have that at the Federal level.
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