Sheriff Deputy Charged w/ WC Fraud over CrossFit!
Happy Friday, dear readers!
I hope everyone out there is safe, finding the roads clear of obstruction.
I will refrain from commenting on the events of this week, because unlike Facebook and LinkedIn, this blog is one where the word “election” means Labor Code section 5500.5 and politics refers to parasitic organisms residing in cities (get it? Polis and ticks?)
Anywho – do you guys know what CrossFit is? Well, apparently, in addition to being an exercise method, it’s also a way to snare workers’ compensation fraudsters.
An OC deputy has been charged with perjury and insurance fraud for engaging in Cross-Fit while on TTD.
The accused, who shall remain nameless unless there is an actual conviction, tripped over a fire-hose and injured his back, and then added claims for his shoulder and neck. While collecting TD benefits, apparently, and being accommodated for a 10-pound push/pull/lift restriction, also engaged in several months of CrossFit, which involved, among other activities, 200 pound lifting exercises.
So, odds are, the Sheriff’s office was running routine sub rosa, or a co-worker tipped off the department. In either case, the employer got evidence of some sort (possibly sub rosa), and then got a deposition transcript denying the truth, and out came the conviction.
If only it were that easy for private-sector employees, ones without any affiliation with law enforcement, to get fraud cases picked up and prosecuted. But alas, California’s employers are only guaranteed the right (and non-waive-able obligation) to fund the Department of Insurance – it is up to prosecutorial discretion as to whether charges get filed.
In your humble blogger’s experience, it really varies county-by-county: some counties don’t place a high priority on prosecuting employee fraud, while others do.
What are the odds that the accused will claim that CrossFit was just part of his doctor’s intense rehabilitation? Or that the instances of CrossFit exercise from May to November of 2015 were just a long string of “good days”?
Stories like these, dear readers, make your humble blogger want to file a psyche claim…