In a time when a lot of businesses are still recovering from the pandemic, fraudulent claims have been on the rise. These behaviours threaten the integrity of workers compensation schemes, taking money and resources away from genuinely injured workers who depend on them for their livelihoods.
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Despite ongoing COVID-19 impacts, NSW workers compensation continues to be front page news. NSW Parliamentary Inquiries forced icare, SIRA, EML & the icare Board to participate. icare CEO John Nagle subsequently resigned following revelations his wife was paid $800K over a 3 year period, resulting in Group Executive Don Ferguson has been appointed as interim icare CEO. NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet survived a no confidence motion by a single casting vote. Mr Perrottet subsequently apologised to workers let down by scandal-ridden insurer icare as he conceded there were serious issues that needed to be addressed inside the agency
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According to a recent article there has been a significant increase in complaints in relation to workers compensation claims fraud. Fraudulent claims include claiming for a non-work related injuries, failure to declare information, altering medical certificates, etc. The recent conviction of a fraudulent worker highlights the emphasis placed on legitimate claims.
The upcoming NSW medium to large business workers compensation changes mean the assessment of liability will be become increasingly critical. The ability to identify and document the facts of an injury can become crucial in minimising the future costs, speed of return to work and acceptance of liability. Employers who are suspicious of particular claims will benefit from use of investigators.