A disciplined comparison of surveillance evidence, medical reporting, and the claimant’s representations produced a decisive result in this New York Workers’ compensation claim. The claimant appeared at an independent medical examination using a cane and reported limitations consistent with a total disability. Surveillance from other dates, however, showed a normal gait without an assistive device, the physical handling of a cart filled with laundry, and several hours of activity at a casino while temporary total disability benefits were being paid.
Following LOIS case-handling protocols, Associate Emma A. Halpin organized the surveillance chronologically and connected the observed activity to the claimant’s statements to medical providers. That preparation allowed the defense to present more than isolated video clips: it established a sustained pattern of conduct that was inconsistent with the disability being reported.
The Workers’ Compensation Law Judge found that the claimant had exaggerated the extent of the disability and violated Workers’ Compensation Law § 114-a. The decision imposed the mandatory penalty and suspended ongoing awards, protecting the client from continued indemnity exposure unsupported by the claimant’s actual functional abilities.
