• 21
  • June
    2010

Injured workers beware - do you exactly how much workers' compensation you are entitled to? Most of the time, those injured on the job appear in court because they have not received enough compensation for their injury. However, one San Francisco school employee will likely find herself in court to testify in the case of a former city employee currently being held on charges of fraud.

In the late 1990's and early 2000's, Leticia James Coral worked as a claims examiner with the San Francisco Department of Human Resources. Her job entailed the evaluation of workers' compensation claims for state employees and the estimation of compensatory benefits for those claims that were deemed valid.

Between 1999 and 2003, Coral approved $85,000 in payment to an injured school worker. Authorities later determined that the employee had only been entitled to receiving $9,320 for her permanent disability claim.

Coral is accused of "fraudulently disbursing public money," approving an extra $76,000 for the injured worker and then demanding half of the compensation benefits for herself as a personal loan.

The worker, who has not been named, faces no charges yet and claims to have been ignorant of Coral's plot. Still, she does acknowledge going to the bank with Coral and, after cashing her disability check, giving Coral half.

For other injured workers, the message is clear. If it seems fishy, ask someone about it. The injured worker in this situation may not be charged with anything at all, but the situation is certainly not a good one.

Make sure you keep tabs on your worker's compensation claim - both to ensure that you are not cheated and to make sure that you are not taken advantage of in a similar fashion.

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