Filing False Workers Comp Claims In California

In People v. Gillard (1997) 57 Cal. App. 4th 136, defendant filed a series of false workers' compensation claims and was charged with perjury and fraud. In the course of the criminal case, the prosecution introduced evidence of defendant's previous injury claims, which were unrelated to the charged offenses. In one of the earlier claims, defendant had consulted an attorney, who had sent his investigator to take photographs of defendant's alleged injuries. The attorney determined he could not assist defendant and closed his file. at trial, the attorney's file was admitted as an exhibit over defendant's objections that the photographs were privileged. (Id. at pp. 143, 160-162.) Gillard relied on Holm and held the photographs were privileged "because these photographs appear to have been taken to convey confidential information from defendant to his attorney." (Id. at pp. 162-163.) Gillard found that unlike Suezaki, the defense attorney's investigator took the photographs of defendant for the purpose of communications to defendant's attorney. ( Id. at p. 163, fn. 17.)