Staged Construction Accidents
Staged accidents are no longer just a suspicion, they’re a growing pattern proven by documentation. In recent years, a deeply entrenched fraud network has emerged, targeting New York’s construction industry. The scale is staggering. Thousands of false claims have been uncovered involving fabricated injuries, sham OSHA certifications, unnecessary surgeries, and orchestrated lawsuits fueled by a coordinated enterprise of law firms, medical providers, and litigation funders.
Tradesman Program Managers and Roosevelt Road Specialty, in collaboration with The Willis Law Group, are taking a stand. With multiple RICO lawsuits filed and hundreds of fraudulent claims defeated, their fight to protect job site safety and policyholder equity is yielding real results.
How the Scam Works
- Recruitment of Vulnerable Workers
The fraud begins with the exploitation of migrant construction laborers many of whom are undocumented and Spanish-speaking. Recruits are promised big paydays in exchange for participating in fake accidents. Some even received counterfeit OSHA cards, often after attending “safety” seminars sponsored by law firms where they were coached on how to fake an injury and what to do if an injury occurred.
Key instruction? Always leave the site in an ambulance and call the sponsoring law firm right away.
- Staging the Accident
Once groomed, the workers carry out orchestrated injuries: falling from ladders, tripping over debris, or skipping basic safety steps like tying off harnesses. These aren’t just dangerous stunts, they’re calculated events aimed at triggering third-party lawsuits under New York’s strict Labor Law provisions.
- Legal and Medical Collusion
After the staged accident, the worker is handed off to a prearranged network: runners escort them to specific law firms, lawyers pair them with cooperative doctors, doctors recommend extensive treatment, often culminating in unnecessary surgeries and claims are inflated using fraudulent medical records.
This closed-loop system ensures maximum payouts, while insurers struggle to verify the truth before settlements are pushed through.
- Litigation Funding and Kickbacks
Third-party litigation financiers, which are sometimes directly tied to the law firms or providers, fund the workers’ expenses and procedures. In return, they take a cut of the inflated settlements. This keeps the fraudulent cycle alive, with everyone in the network sharing in the profits, except the injured worker, who is often left worse off.
The Scale and Consequences
- Over 1,000 suspicious injury claims flagged by Tradesman in just four years.
- A 484% increase in claim costs for one reinsurer from 2018 to 2023.
- Carriers abandoning the NY construction market entirely.
- Legislation now pending to make staging a construction accident a felony.
The Fallout for the Industry
The impact of these fraud schemes is devastating. As a result, safety is comprised, as real injuries get ignored or dismissed. Legitimate workers suffer, fearing they’ll be accused of faking injuries; insurance premiums skyrocket, pricing out honest contractors; rent and housing costs rise, as construction costs soar; unqualified labor floods job sites, endangering everyone.
Fighting Back: The Tradesman Timeline
- March 2024: Tradesman Program Managers initiates 1st RICO complaint against doctors and lawyers for using construction workers to stage accidents.
- September 2024: TPM files 2nd RICO action against a NYC law firm and its associated medical providers.
- November 2024: TPM sues father-son plaintiff attorney duo and their “runner.”
- January 2025: TPM joins forces with Ionian Re to file joint RICO lawsuit against lawyers and doctors.
- June 2025: TPM files 5th RICO action against a large New York City plaintiff law firm.
The investigative efforts have led to doctors and lawyers walking away from hundred of fraudulent lawsuits, doctors losing their workers’ comp treatment licenses in New York and exposure of fraudulent OSHA card programs.
Where Fraud Thrives: “Hotbed Addresses”
Tradesman has identified common addresses used by claimants – dubbed “hotbed addresses” – which serve as red flags for suspicious claims. These addresses are under surveillance, and investigations are now leading to referrals for disciplinary action at the Workers’ Compensation Board.
What Contractors Can Do To Protect Themselves from Staged Construction Accident Fraud
1.Install Cameras
Install as many cameras as possible on your jobsites. Put up signs on the outside of the jobsite saying people on the site are being recorded at all times. The signs serve as a deterrent to bad actors.
2. Know Every Worker
Do not hire labor that you do not know or can’t verify. Your safety team should know every person on the job site.
3.Document, Document, Document
Document the health of workers when they arrive to work and when they leave. If there is a fall or injury, supervisors should interview witnesses immediately and take a ton of pictures of the scene and injured worker.
4. Shout, Don’t Pay Out
Contractors who allow their insurance to pay out fraudulent claims will be the victims of more fraud. Bad actors know the contractors who settle. Don’t be that guy!
Why FIGHTING Matters
Fraud isn’t just an insurance issue – it’s a safety issue. It’s a justice issue. And it’s an economic issue.
With the support of industry allies like the AGC and Tradesman Program Managers, the tide is turning. But the work isn’t done.