Illinois Work Injury Fraud
If we found out a client of ours was lying, we'd withdraw from their case. Fortunately we are pretty good at screening our clients and that has only happened once. We were asked to provide an overview on work comp fraud in Illinois for a lecture and here is what we wrote.
Crime & Punishment in the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act
In February of 2006, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act was amended to include investigations of fraudulent work injury filings by a new Fraud Prevention Unit. Below is more detailed information about this new amendment to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.
Fraud: A person commits fraud when he or she intentionally induces another to rely on a pervasion of the truth and surrender a legal right or thing of value.
The Fraud Prevention Unit
Illinois joined the ranks of other states by establishing the Fraud Prevention Unit. The Fraud Prevention Unit investigates the legitimacy of claims made by employees.
We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.
The Fraud Prevention Unit investigates charges of fraud with regard to uninsured employers and fraudulent claims by employees.
The primary function of the Fraud Prevention Unit is to determine the identity of entities that violate the fraud and insurance non-compliance provisions of the Act. Entities that fraudulently violate the Workers’ Compensation Act usually include employees, employers, and insurance carriers.
Upon finding fraud, the Fraud Prevention Unit can make a report to the Attorney General or the State’s Attorney of the county in which the fraud took place. From there, the Attorney General or State’s Attorney can decide whether to prosecute violations.
Reporting Instances of Fraud
Allegations of insurance non-compliance or fraud to the Fraud Prevention Unit can be made by any person who is willing to identify him or herself. For the most part, all reports are confidential, however sometimes they are used to refer an investigation to the Attorney General or State’s Attorney.
False reports of fraud to the Fraud Prevention Unit are considered a class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $1,000.00 fine. Furthermore, it is also illegal for employers, insurance carriers, and service adjustment companies to threaten to report an employee for fraud if the employee exercises the rights and remedies under the Workers’ Compensation Act.
