Sometimes I just have to sit back and have a brief chuckle when it’s obvious insurance companies have lost their minds! This is a true story of an Emergency Room physician who was surveilled in the middle of the night. It’s OK to smile along…
Dr. Don was an Emergency Room attending physician, who after many months found that due to the herniations in his back was unable to keep up with the constant activity of an hospital emergency room.
In 2018, he filed for disability under three policies with his insurance company and stopped working. Six months later his claim was still not paid, and frustration set in. He was ready for a fight.
One night, Dr. Don was awakened by a loud crash followed by a human voice desperately crying, “Help!” from the darkened roadway in front of his Condo. Shaking himself awake, he squinted to see a blacked out white Econo Van stopped in the middle of the road, with a man desperately holding out his arms above his head.”Help me”, “Help me” the man cried waving at Dr. Don, “I’m hurt and bleeding.” The driver of the van kneeled alongside the injured rider, and also screamed that Dr. Don should go down and help them.
Whether it was the over dramatized antics of the situation, or Dr. Don’s common sense that screamed caution, we’ll never know, but he yelled down to the men, “I’ll call 911 and get you some help!” And, the strangest thing happened.
The driver jumped up from the street and quickly opened the back doors to the van, while the injured and bleeding cyclist, miraculously got to his feet, and threw the bike into the two swinging doors of vehicle. The two men then jumped quickly into the vehicle spun the tires smokin’, and took off down the road.
Dr. Don rubbed his eyes in disbelief. “What the hell just happened here?”, he whispered out loud. He looked back at the road, silent without a peep, and shook his head.
It took a few weeks for Dr. Don to figure out the repercussions of the 3 a.m episode in front of his Condo. When he did, he laughed hysterically for several minutes.”Quite a stunt”, he murmured, “quite a stunt.”
What happened to Dr. Don is called a “dramatized surveillance.” Knowing the doctor was an ER physician, it’s purpose was to draw out the doctor for assistance, proving he could still act in an emergency situation and could work. Dr. Don was really smart by not rushing out to the street to provide help to a supposed bleeding insurance agent, and the whole staged event was foiled.
For those of you who may think my surveillance warnings are over exaggerations, consider the extent this surveillance team went through to catch an ER physician demonstrating work capacity. I wish I had been a little fly on the tree trunk that night, because it must have been hilarious.
