Depressing PA Case Attracts Attention from North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Experts
A few months ago, this North Carolina workers’ compensation blog reported about the case of Christina Gamble, a 43-year-old woman who got arrested on charges of workers’ comp fraud, after insurance investigators found that she had been stripping while collecting disability benefits, ostensibly because she had trouble “standing and changing positions.”
The 43-year-old Gamble waitressed at Red Robin Restaurant in 2007. She allegedly hurt her back at work. In 2008, a judge granted her disability benefits of $360 a week. All told, she collected $4,000+ in expenses and $23,000+ in disability payments. However, the restaurant’s insurance representatives hired private investigators to track down Ms. Gamble. They found her working as an exotic dancer at CR Fanny’s Gentleman’s Club in nearby Wilson. The PIs taped her stripping and used this evidence to prove that her workers’ comp claim was fraudulent.
Obviously, any North Carolina workers’ compensation fraud case hurts everyone else in the system. When people fake disabilities or play up injuries to get benefits, this not only drains resources that could otherwise be used to help people who really are injured – but it also creates a sense of mutual distrust. When insurers and employers lose trust, they tend to crack down by making the process more difficult and the investigations more probing, personal, and annoying.
All that said, in the case of Ms. Gamble, you have to feel some sympathy for this woman. It sounds like she has had a very hard go of it. It’s obviously impossible to know her full story just from a news report. But it is important to remember that North Carolina workers’ compensation fraud comes in many flavors – some people purposely bilk the system to take advantage of loopholes; other people just get into desperate straits and do desperate and stupid things.
If you or a family member faces problems collecting benefits, your focus is 100% on getting these issues resolved ASAP. To that end, you might be well advised to set up a free consultation with a local North Carolina workers’ compensation firm to explore your rights, build a strategy to get your benefits and to resolve any agita associated with your claim, and work towards building a sustainable financial future for you and your family.
More Web Resources
CR Fanny’s Gentleman’s Club
Bucks woman to stand trial in workers’ comp case
