NEW YORK Workers Comp Police Officer Loses Claim for Benefits in Finding of Self-Inflicted Stab Wounds

Note: Workers’ Compenstion Insurance is a type of “property and casualty” business insurance required in all states, except Texas where an employer may opt out. It is referred to as a “line” of insurance coverage and is purchased from an insurance agent or broker.

Police Officer Denied Workers’ Comp Benefits – the lengths to which some people will go to collect workers’ comp …. vigilant board reviews claim carefully

A suspended New York police officer failed to win his case with the state Workers Compensation Board. The WCB did not believe his story of being stabbed while on duty nearly three years ago.

The Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, reports the officer, a 10-year force veteran, claimed he was attacked by a pair of men and sustained stab wounds while investigating a suspicious car in a local cemetery 2006.

After an investigation by the officer’s department and New York State Police, his claim was questioned and investigators maintained he was not eligible to receive disability benefits.

The Workers Compensation Board Administrative Law Judge sided with the village and reported the officer’s claimed injuries were actually self-inflicted and did not arise out or during the course of his employment as a police officer.

In November of last year, the officer was found not guilty on one count of first-degree offering a false report for filing, a felony, and third-degree falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor. However, in September the officer was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of New York and faces 20 counts of mail fraud. (workersxzcompxzkit)

According to the federal indictment, the charges are a result of the officer allegedly using the U.S. Postal Service to deliver documents with which he planned to defraud Johnson City, the Public Employer Risk Management Association and the state Retirement System of more than $90,000 in salary and medical benefits.

The indictment claims the officer falsely stated he was assaulted in the December 2006 incident. He is not eligible to receive workers’ compensation of $43,626 in salary and $47,607 in medical bills and other expenses, including post traumatic stress disorder, if his injuries were self-inflicted.

Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs, including airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He can be contacted at: [email protected] or 860-786-8286.

We are accepting short articles* (200-600 words) on WC cost containment. Contact us at: [email protected]. *Non-compensable.