In today’s world, private investigators play a major role in a business, especially regarding fraudulent work injury claims. They are, more or less, the back seat observers of situations, and they help eliminate or reduce work injury scandals. Most businesses fail to realize that private investigators don’t necessarily have to be hired when a situation emerges. They are hired as a form of being proactive or, better still, a preventative measure. Some business owners don’t know how private investigators can help protect businesses from fraudulent work injury claims.
This is why we shall highlight some of the private investigators’ usefulness in dealing with fraudulent work injury claims in this article. In addition, we would also look at the driving force for employees who carry out such an act.
5 Usefulness of Private Investigators in protecting a business from fraudulent work injury claims
- Carry out background checks: What a private investigator does in mitigating such cases is to carry out background checks on employees for a business. What causes most businesses to lose money because of employee theft. With a private investigator around, they would give the business accurate information regarding an employee and its threat to a business. When a business owner wants to employ a candidate, a private investigator would double-check the job history of that candidate and carry out educational background checks.
- Gather evidence: One effective way a private investigator(s) helps a business from fraudulent work injury claims is to gather evidence regarding an employee. Some of the underground evidence they may gather is an employee’s daily life after an accident or injury associated with a claim. In addition, after gathering additional evidence, they would then check for discrepancies after reviewing the evidence. A private investigator can detect a forged document after gathering enough evidence. This can then be used to eliminate a fraudulent work injury claim.
- Increase internal controls: A private investigator can see that a business is well protected from fraudulent work injury claims by infiltrating a system that can clarify how easy it is to commit a fraudulent act. Once they can determine the root cause, they can create preventive measures to protect the business from suffering due to such a scam. For instance, a private investigator might recommend that an employee be denied access to certain vital information such as an invoice of past work injury settlements. They may have an idea of a work injury settlement and try to take such information and work against the business to get compensated.
- Through surveillance: When a business doesn’t have surveillance or monitors their employees, they may be carrying out operations at risk. A private investigator that intends to prevent a fraudulent work injury claim can do so through surveillance. An employee that wants to cheat or get compensated fraudulently would have been trying or working on a plan. They may be acting in an unusual way, especially when the plan is in motion. A private investigator or investigators can detect such play through surveillance. Once they keep an eye on an employee who intends to carry out such an act, they may be saving the company a lot of money as a result of being proactive.
- Conduct interviews: As earlier mentioned, it is always good to have a private investigator before a situation, or a case presents itself in a business. Now, to prevent or help a business from suffering a fraudulent work injury claim, they may need to conduct interviews. To quickly detect fraudulent activities, they may share a questionnaire among different employees. Such results can become useful in a civil case.
Reasons why employees make fraudulent work injury claims
Over the years, employee theft has been on a rising trend. A private investigator and the work they do in saving the business from huge loss cannot be undermined, and there have been lots of cases whereby a business has had to settle fraudulent work injury claims. Some of the reasons an employee wants to plan a fraudulent work injury claim are explained below.
An opportunistic thief: Some employees are there to jump on a company once an opportunity presents itself. They do not care about the financial implications of such acts.
- Unsuccessful promotion: Employees who would want to carry out compensation in a fraudulent way are born as a result of being in the same position. When most of their colleagues get promoted, they feel they’ve been there for such a long time. They may want to pay back the business or company.
- The conflict between employee and supervisor: Another reason why an employee would want to make a fraudulent work injury claim is to pay back a boss or a supervisor to affect or hinder their efforts. A misunderstanding can occur in a workplace, but some employees go the extra mile by taking a work-related injury to make the supervisor look bad and get rewarded fraudulently.
Any business that wants to stay clear of employee theft must have a private investigator on hand. They are essentially useful in quickly detecting employee theft and acting swiftly in return. With over 20 years of investigations under our belt, we know it is of the upmost importance to protect your business from fraudulent work injury claims. Let us help you protect your business. Schedule a consult with one of our investigators below.