17-09-2021 Brisbane
| Date | 17 September 2021 |
|---|---|
| Charges |
|
| Court | Brisbane Magistrates Court |
| Plea | Guilty |
| Case | The worker was charged with defrauding the insurer by failing to disclose an engagement in a calling to the insurer and to their medical practitioners. |
| Facts | The worker sustained a lower back injury in the course of their employment on 4 July 2019. The worker claimed they felt a sudden onset of pain in their lower back whilst picking up trays and did not report this to their employer. On 21 July 2019, the worker was issued a workers’ compensation medical certificate certifying that they were injured at work. An application for workers’ compensation was made on 23 July 2019. After confirmation the injury was work-related, the claim was accepted on 16 August 2019 and payments were backdated to 12 July 2019. On 29 July 2019, the worker was asked by the insurer if they had a second employer or any other form of income to which they replied “no”. On 29 October 2019, the employer rang the insurer and informed them that the worker had been seen driving for a ride share company. On the same date, the insurer called the worker and asked if they were undertaking any paid employment, to which they said they weren’t. The insurer then asked if the worker was driving for a ride share company and the worker responded that they were sometimes. The worker provided screen shots of their payment summaries as proof of the income they had earned. On 19 November 2019, the insurer asked the worker to confirm that the last week they worked for the ride share company was 29 October 2019 and that they hadn’t worked for the company since then. The worker responded to the effect that this was correct. Further investigations in the form of records obtained from the ride share company confirmed that the worker had been a driver for the company from 3 July 2019 until 10 December 2019. During this period the worker made a total of $7,122.77. |
| Penalty |
|
| Restitution | $40,928.22 |
| Costs | $0 |
| Common Law rights extinguished? | Yes |
| Conviction | Recorded |
| Consideration for Prevention | A worker should be truthful about their working status to their medical practitioners and to the insurer. |