Test removes fraud investigators from scenario

Workers' comp insurers that suspect an employee may be committing fraud often hire a private investigator. Dr. Bradley A. Marcus, head of the Medical Rehabilitation & Kinematics Lab in San Diego, said this option can be very expensive, time consuming, and not achieve the desired outcome.

"Investigators may take video of employee, but it won't measure everything," he said. "The data collected is subject to interpretation and does not always hold up in court cases. It can also cause animosity between parties because it is an invasive option that assumes guilt."

The kinematic functional capacity evaluation, on the other hand, removes many of those issues from the equation.

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"That's the nice thing about what we do," Bradley said. "If you are only relying on videotape alone, you won't have that extra data to make an accurate assessment."

August 9, 2010

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