Posted on 04/28/2014 8:41:29 AM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
On Dec. 7, 2009, New York State Police narcotics investigator Richard O’Brien fell off a ladder while fixing his mother’s roof.
He lived for only three more hours after the fall — but in that brief time, fellow troopers tried to have him retired on disability.
Now, Stephanie O’Brien, his widow, is fighting in court, saying a faulty fax machine and a measly seven minutes mean she and the couple’s daughter would get a $342,000 death payout — rather than lifetime benefits that could total in the millions.
The case is the first involving an officer filing for a disability retirement on the day of his death, lawyers said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
“A similar situation happened with several National Guardsmen a while back that were called to Active Duty. They all signed their SGLI forms (life insurance) and submitted them to their S-1 (admin) on the same day that they shipped off to Iraq. Their aircraft suffered a mishap and all perished. The court ruled that their intent was to be insured and therefore their spouses received the SGLI. That should be precedent for this case.”
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It is NOT a precedent. They signed up for LIFE INSURANCE and then later died in a plane crash—the “peril” for which SGLI insures. The State Trooper had life insurance which paid off when he lost his life—his fellow troopers and his family were simply trying to scam the taxpayers out of some undeserved benefits.
Ya Old prick. I like her.
No not at all. Nowhere near the same thing.
Huh?
The widow and those who assisted in trying to perpetrate this fraud should be charged with criminal conspiracy.
The other troopers should be fired.If that means loss of pensions,tough!
The widow should be fined a hefty amount .
All parties involved ruled ineligble for any future government employment.
I will claim ignorance in how LEOs work the legality of such, but in the military during ANY injury, whether on or off duty, an investigation (JAG) is conducted to determine if the injury was "In the line of duty" and has nothing to do with whether the person was at work or not. Lots of car accident injuries, home accidents, etc. are considered "In the line of duty" simply because there was no misconduct (illegal activity). If LEOs operate under the same presumption then the incident I cited would be precedent. If not, then all bets are off.
No, genius... sympathy for a dead husband. Milking the system... no. I think I was clear for the literate.
Amen!
LOL! Thats about all they will get.
As a veteran of the US Army, I understand where you are coming from. As you are likely aware, as an enlisted soldier at least, you are available for duty 24/7 in many assignments, and the property of the US government. Your actions are basically at the whim of your commanding officer, often even in your off duty time, so such a policy has merit. It never crossed my mind that such might be the case for LEOs, I see them as no different than any other state or federal civilian employee, but you raise an interesting point.
He should have been doing drywall, like every other cop and firefighter.
I am sure that it was his other cop friends. They ALL know how to work the system. I worked at the Post Office when I was in college. Those guys knew how to massage every nickel from the system. I imagine the cops are no different.
Plenty of folks take issue with the VA providing treatment for non-service related ailments and injuries too.
Your example may be a double dip but no where near fraudulent. IMHO.
The literate would understand if you said "his" situation. You wrote "their" situation. So the literate would understand you sympathize for the grifting widow too. Putz.
Really? I'm supposed to sympathize with HIS situation? No, I sympathize with his family's situation. They just lost a husband and father. That DOES NOT mean I condone their grifting.
This argument is pointless. If you disagree, say so. Quite trying to pick apart my words when you are clearly not understanding them.
They weren’t trying to “milk” the system. They were trying to DEFRAUD the system. The rest of us would get jail time for fraud. But not government workers. And note how they all stick together on this.
You can’t apply for disability insurance coverage for someone else, especially after a fatal injury. These troopers and his wife have committed fraud. They should be charged, and given a trial, not excused.
More crooked cops trying to rip off the taxpayers.
These are the guys enforcing laws on the rest of us.
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