Investigation finds New York paid over $36000 in work comp ...

Officials with the state of New York's Workers' Compensation Board are likely feeling somewhat frustrated following a revelation earlier this month that they issued thousands of dollars in workers' compensation benefits to otherwise ineligible recipients.

Specifically, on May 4, the New York State comptroller's office announced that a comprehensive investigation revealed that the State Insurance Fund -- the state's largest workers' compensation insurance carrier, akin to California's State Compensation Insurance Fund -- paid over $36,000 to seven inmates in state prison.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli indicated that state officials uncovered the problem after cross-referencing approved work comp claimants with inmate files from the Department of Correction and Community Supervision, and examining work comp benefits paid from September 2008 to September 2011.

"Simply stated, inmates serving felony time are not entitled to a dime of workers' compensation benefits. These payments are indefensible and should have been stopped," said DiNapoli. "The Workers' Compensation Board owes it to businesses and taxpayers to put stronger internal controls in place. New York state businesses can't afford to pay higher insurance premiums to cover the cost of these inappropriate payments."

In order to prevent a reoccurrence of this costly mishap, the New York State comptroller's office advised the WCB to implement more stringent internal controls, including periodic cross-checks of recipients. They also advised the WCB to continue with its efforts to recover the work comp benefits from inmates.

Interestingly, DiNapoli also stated that his investigation revealed that private work comp carriers might have inadvertently paid work comp benefits to another 193 inmates in the state prison system.

Stay tuned for further updates from our San Diego workers' compensation firm ...

If you have questions or would like to learn more about workers' compensation benefits, contact an experienced legal professional.

This post was for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Source:

Insurance Journal "Probe finds N.Y. paid prison inmates improper workers' comp benefits," May 7, 2012

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