West Seattle man sentenced in insurance fraud case

A West Seattle man has been sentenced to 6 months of electronic home monitoring and must pay more than $26,000 in restitution for first degree theft in an insurance case.
Edward Charles Bailey, 59, reported an on-the-job back injury to his employer in 2006. He was placed on temporary total disability and received disability pay from his employer’s insurer, Alaska National Insurance. Doctors subsequently ruled him unable to return to work.

Five weeks after the injury, investigators working for the insurance company videotaped Bailey working vigorously on his sailboat at a Seattle marina. The sanding, painting, climbing and moving of machinery were all contrary to the physical restrictions imposed by Bailey’s doctors, according to the Washington insurance commissioner’s Special Investigations Unit.

When shown the video, the independent medical examination doctors who had originally seen Mr. Bailey reversed their original opinion as to his ability to work.

Bailey pleaded guilty to the charge. The restitution covers unnecessary medical expenses and disability benefits that he was not entitled to.