The Real Cost of Malingering

There is a serious human cost to falsified injury claims. They can devastate a business and hurt the entire team. An employee might think they’re getting free medical care or a paid vacation, but malingering has consequences that are very serious.

1.) Insurance Premiums

Every business pays mandatory Worker’s Compensation insurance. For many industrial businesses, this is often the most expensive insurance policy the business takes out, even if they have never had a claim filed against them. If there is a claim filed, those premiums will typically increase 25 percent every year for three years, and then decrease by 25 percent each year for three more years, meaning that businesses will suffer from raised premiums for up to six years for one incident! If the incident was falsified, it is not only completely unfair to the business owners to pay these higher premiums, but this has been the tipping point into bankruptcy for many businesses. If your business can’t afford rising premiums and closes, the entire workforce is out of a job. If one employee’s undeserved leave might result in the unemployment of all their coworkers, you need to dispute the claim at all costs.

2.) Other Employees

When one employee is on medical leave, the others are called in to cover for them. If you’re spending too much time nursing an imagined injury, you’re increasing the workload of everyone else. Businesses are often legally obligated to keep you on staff, meaning you can’t even be effectively replaced. Employees have jobs because business needs them, and that need doesn’t disappear when they do. You’d think that the long, stressful hours of a malingerer’s coworker would be enough to discourage people from faking or exaggerating their injury, but unfortunately not everyone prioritizes the in-it-together spirit.

3.) Indirect Costs

When an employee fakes an injury or illness, any direct compensation is covered by the business insurance policy. However, there are a number of indirect costs associated with workers’ compensation claims that are covered by the business. Lost productivity, management being over-stretched by the scheduling demands, the time spent by anyone handling the claim, accommodating an injured employee, or any repair or clean-up associated with injury all come directly from the employer’s pocket.

Don’t get taken for a ride, because the costs add up—if you think your employee might be faking a work-related injury or illness, contact us at Stop Claims!