A federal lawsuit has been filed by a New York-based insurance company alleging a statewide scheme of staged construction site accidents.
The company, Tradesmen, says it has received what it believes is more than 650 fraudulent workers’ compensation claims in the last four years.
Medical professionals, attorneys, and construction workers are all part of the alleged scam to file false claims that can be in the millions of dollars.
Per the lawsuit filed by Tradesmen Insurance, medical professionals reportedly take advantage of Spanish-speaking immigrant workers to employ them to become involved in the false claims.
Once a staged incident is held, the worker responds to a lawyer before approaching any medical professional. A basic trip and fall incident that may normally cause a bruised knee or similar minor injury may be elevated, at least on paper, to something that leads to a multi-million-dollar permanent disability-style workers' comp claim.
Filings for the lawsuit include video footage of some of the alleged “falls” that have led to claims being filed.
Before Tradesmen Insurance filed its lawsuit, WABC-TV 7 Eyewitness News in New York conducted an investigative report In November 2023 about allegations of scams involving fake falls on construction sites.
