Will Facebook help uncover workers’ comp fraud?
November 21, 2011 by Fred HosierPosted in: Injuries, Special Report, Workers' comp
PDF 
Insurance companies have a new tool to catch workers trying to commit workers’ comp fraud, and it’s as close as a computer screen.
Insurers are increasingly using Facebook and other social media to find evidence that could lead to denial of workers’ comp benefits.
That word comes from the law firm of Ingerman & Horwitz, which is warning its clients who are injured workers that things they post on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube or elsewhere on the web could work against them.
“We are seeing an increasing number of cases where insurance companies and their lawyers are searching social media sites … for photos and blogs about what our clients are doing while they are recovering from their injuries,” says Alan Horwitz, co-founder of the firm.
Courts are even ordering injured workers to produce their Facebook or other social media pages for inspection by insurance company lawyers.
“In one current case, our client’s Workers’ Compensation benefits were stopped by the insurance company when their lawyers discovered he was selling personal items daily on Craigslist and eBay,” says the firm’s Bruce Ingerman. “The insurance company considered that he was earning income and therefore was no longer eligible for workers’ compensation.”
Ingerman and Horwitz see this as a bad development. “The devil could indeed be lurking in the details one chooses to post online.”
But this could be a good development for employers. Insurance companies used to send investigators to videotape injured workers who appeared to be not-quite-so-injured when they thought no one was looking.
Now, the injured workers can save the insurance companies from having to videotape anything. Their Facebook pages can show just how injured they are.
SafetyNewsAlert.com delivers the latest Safety news once a week to the inboxes of over 270,000 Safety professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to SafetyNewsAlert!
Tags: Facebook, fraud, Twitter, Workers' comp, YouTube
Loading ...
November 22nd, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Something to consider when using a social media site as evidence in a fraud case is that not everything posted is current. Even in the case of someone selling things from home as an additional means of income, does not take a way the fact that they are trying to supplement what workers comp insurance does not cover. Extra Bills, kids needs , personal hygiene, things like that…You do not get the same pay as you did when you were working. As long as that person isn’t caught running around being the outlandish party goer, that should not hold up in court…
November 22nd, 2011 at 2:32 pm
If someone is selling a personal item for the value it was purchased at or depreciated value, there is no financial gain. So keep the leather couch or sell it for it’s value and go without to pay the bills. I don’t call that earning income I call that trading. If the customer was making beads or jewelry from sea shells to earn income, that is different.
November 22nd, 2011 at 4:18 pm
The question isn’t about what constitutes income, the question is about fraud. Most people don’t abuse comp insurance, but even a small percentage will cause rates to rise. More money spent on higher insurance premiums means less profit-and raises, research, and expansion come from profits.
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Facebook helped me on a workers comp case. A friend of mine came by my house one day and wanted to show me her photos from her weekend of Mudding. (playing in the mud in 4-wheel drive jeeps). Anyway she goes on facebook to show me and there in the background of one of the photos is an employee that has been out on workers comp for about a year because of a back injury. You DONT go 4-wheeling with his kind of back injury. If it is in black & white we should be able to use the proof no matter where we get it.