In this position, I receive so many press releases that it’s difficult to keep up and some sit in my email inbox unread because they don’t relate to this industry in the slightest way. However, I recently received one press release that not only caught my attention, it amazed me and inspired me to write this post about it.

It tells of a man named Paul Colbert, who is the president and CEO of Meridian Investigative Group, a workers comp investigation company. With more than a decade of experience, Paul has seen some of the worst workers comp fraud cases in history. Below are a few of the more severe ones he shared in the email (names have been changed):

• Kristy G: She alleged that her right foot was so injured that she couldn’t walk for for extended periods of time or be a productive member at her place of employment. Video caught her walking into the doctor’s office with her crutches and ambulatory aid for her ankle. Later, she was videotaped walking around without the crutches and holding her boot in her hand, trying to hit someone with it and then walking off quickly without any aid or signs of disability.
   
• Kathy V: Her alleged injury was to her neck and shoulders, and in her claim, she indicated that she gets regular injections in her arm for pain. Her pain was so severe, that she could not work. Video caught her riding in a rodeo competition on two different occasions, after her date of injury.
   
• Eddie R: His alleged injury was to his back, left ankle and heel. Again, his injuries were to such a degree that he could not work anymore. Video captured Eddie handily pushing his pickup truck after it stalled.
   
• Burt F: Burt filed a claim indicating the he was allegedly legally blind due to his workplace injury, but apparently not blind enough to prevent him from working as a maintenance man at an apartment complex. He was captured on video driving a golf cart and performing maintenance duties.

Do you know of any extreme workers comp fraud cases?