What Really Hurts’

January 15, 2001

Susan Jeanette Hobson, 40, surrendered to investigators from the California Department of Insurance (CDI) on three felony counts of insurance fraud and one felony count of perjury.

In February 1996, the Sacramento woman allegedly tripped in the parking lot of her employer, Catholic Health Workers Foundation, and claimed to have injured her left ankle.

Hobson then filed a claim with Applied Risk Management. In December 1996, she filed a second claim against American Multiline Corporation and Reliance Insurance Company for a cumulative trauma injury to her left arm as a result of prolonged work at her computer.

Hobson told treating doctors that she could not use her hands, stand or walk, for long periods of time as a result of her injuries. She reiterated these statements in a February 1998 deposition. Investigators videotaped Hobson between December 1997 and February 1998 and found that she was in fact able to use her hands, stand and walk.

As a result of the false claim and misrepresentations, Applied Risk Management and Reliance Insurance Company paid Hobson $21,600 in workers’ comp benefits.

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Insurance Journal Magazine January 15, 2001
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