WCDefenseCA

Alright dear readers – here we are, puffing right along to the end of the week.

The 9th Circuit has lifting the injunction against collecting lien activation, meaning that we might soon have a total wipe-out of any liens from before January 1, 2013 that have not yet paid their activation fee (we’ll see how the DWC decides to handle that one).

We also now have the benefits rates for 2016 – TTD will be paid at a maximum of $1,128.43, and a minimum of $169.26, up from $1,103.29 max and $165.49 minimum in 2015.

And, on top of all that, we have yet another instance of cartoon-level insurance fraud misconduct succesfully prosecuted by a district attorney.

The Sacramento District Attorney has announced that (former) California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Officer Alan Lemke, has plead no contest to felony workers’ compensation fraud.  Mr. Lemke claimed to have sustained a workers’ compensation injury to his foot, but he then engaged in a 50-mile-hike shortly (3 weeks) after being injured at work.

It appears Mr. Lemke took video of his adventures and activities, which law enforcement found following a search of Mr. Lemke’s home (I wonder, dear readers, what the investigators provided as a good faith reason for thinking incriminating evidence would be found).

Mr. Lemke is to be placed on probation and serve 150 days in the county jail, which will possibly go through the work furlough program.  Restitution is to be paid to SCIF in the amount of at least $33,262.56.

And, there you have it folks – justice is served, and a stern warning is sent to all would-be workers’ comp frauds!  Right? Stop laughing!

Your humble blogger tips his hat to the Sacramento District Attorney for prosecuting this case and protecting the interests of an employer, even if the employer happens to be another state actor.  At the same time, however, your humble blogger submits that these things don’t happen often enough – private-sector employers pay enough into the workers’ comp system and law enforcement that we should be seeing more and more of these cases.  Instead… well… ask your favorite defense attorneys how easy it is to get a prosecution going.  To be fair, this varies from county to county, with some offices more concerned about workers’ comp fraud than others.

In other words, your humble blogger applauds but offers a stern demand of encore!