Velasquez alleged that specifically on 9/15/09, he was moving some bags of fertilizer in a store room in an attempt to “clean up” the storage area. Allegedly, he moved some bags from the top of a full pallet to another pallet in an effort to “even out” the pallets.

 While performing this activity, he alleged that one of the bags started to fall, and he turned quickly to keep it from falling. In doing so, he alleged that he sustained injury to his neck and both shoulders. He further alleged that he was working alone and there were no witnesses to the incident.

 He stated that at first he thought it would get better so he didn’t bother to report it to management. He stated that he is aware of reporting procedures in the event of an injury but failed to follow those procedures. In fact, he had a prior work injury in 2007 and received a settlement of that claim in 2008.

 He eventually reported the incident to management on or around 10/18/09. He was provided a claim form (DWC1) on or around 10/20/09 and he signed it on 10/25/09, thus declaring that he was injured on 9/15/09.

 The claim was placed in “delay” status on 10/26/09 pending an investigation due to the late reporting of the injury by Velasquez and the suspicions of the employer.

 Velasquez commenced medical treatment on 10/20/09. He was given restrictions of no lifting, pulling, pushing over 10 lbs., and no reaching above shoulder level. Surveillance was obtained on 11/23/09 depicting Velasquez exceeding these restrictions. He was interviewed the following day, 11/24/09, regarding the alleged incident

 Our investigator obtained still pictures of the site. It was noted that the pallet stacks were undisturbed. Additionally, there is a significant amount of equipment stacked in front of the pallets and that it would be very difficult to access the pallets without moving all of the equipment .Also, there was dirt on top of the bags which would mean that the bags were not moved.

 Velasquez commenced medical treatment on 10/20/09. He was given restrictions of no lifting, pulling, pushing over 10 lbs., and no reaching above shoulder level. Surveillance was obtained on 11/23/09 depicting Velasquez exceeding these restrictions. He was interviewed the following day, 11/24/09, regarding the alleged incident as well as any recent activities. He denied having exceeded the restrictions since 10/20/09.

 Based on the results of our investigation, the claim for benefits was denied on 1/14/10. The investigation showed that the injury could not have occurred as indicated by Velasquez.

 Additionally, based on the false filing of a claim, and his false statements regarding his activities, the case was referred to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office 3/25/10.

 Will keep you updated as the case progresses through the court process.