The F word

"My boss told me to say I was hurt at a soccer game and not at work.   To not tell their insurance.  He said he would take care of all of my medical expenses and pay me under the table until I could return to work.”

My client  sat across from me in agony.  His employer did not have insurance and did not follow through with his promises.    He was fired soon after his accident and sat in my office,  torn meniscus in his knee, no medical treatment, no work, and in a lot of pain.

Worker's Compensation fraud comes in a lot of forms.  Under California law it is illegal for an employer to distort facts in order to avoid responsibility for a work related accident.   We hear a lot about injured workers "milking the system" in order to get free benefits.   The reality is that in decades of practice, we see way more employer side fraud.  Labor Code 3700.5 states that failure to provide some type of Insurance coverage for Workers' Compensation may be a misdemeanor.

Insurance Code 1871.4 (a) (1)  It is illegal to make "knowingly make false or fraudulent...material representation for the purpose of obtaining or denying any compensation." ( emphasis added)

Fraud hurts all Californians.  Injured workers who are unjustly denied treatment, often end up in emergency rooms with low income medical insurance funded by the state picking up the tab.  Borrego law has decades of experience overcoming employer fraud and securing treatment and benefits against illegally uninsured employers.

Bottom line, if an employer asks, never agree to distort or change how a work injury happened.   Report the injury immediately, insist on filling out an injury report, and take a copy.  Honesty is always the only policy!

Injured at work? Call us today for a free consultation. 9169132938

José A. Borrego

Joseborregolaw.com

Workers Compensation, Personal Injury, Family Law

916 446 4911