Lessons From a Courtroom

   Fifteen years ago this month, I was called to testify in an upstate New York courtroom about my findings in an insurance fraud investigation, something I’d done countless times before. It was a non-jury civil trial where a man was suing an insurance company for a seven-figure settlement due to alleged injuries he received during his employment. Should he prevail, he would be financially set for the rest of his life at a tremendous cost to the insurance company, its stockholders, and, more importantly, honest policyholders.
 
   The story began about a year earlier when the insurance company retained me to investigate the legitimacy of his claim in my capacity as a multi-state licensed investigator. The claimant did sustain an injury, although the incident was unwitnessed, and the subsequent medical evidence to support a permanent disability was mostly subjective.
 
   My initial investigation determined that the claimant was operating a lucrative business. At the same time, he claimed to be completely disabled and unable to engage in normal life activities he enjoyed before he was allegedly injured. It’s a scenario that plays out every day across our country.
 
   Due to the nature of the claimant’s newly formed business, I was able to go undercover and pose as a subcontractor, which permitted me nearly unfettered access to the claimant and his business operat ...