Rocky Hill, CT – A New Haven woman was recently arrested and charged with staging a fall at her workplace so she could collect Workers’ Compensation benefits.
ELEANOR A. DUNHAM, age 49, of 495 Sherman Parkway, New Haven, was charged with one count of filing a fraudulent claim for Workers’ Compensation benefits, a class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $15,000 fine.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Dunham filed for benefits after she reported to medical personnel that she had slipped and fallen in a puddle of water at work and had injured her back. A review of a videotape of the incident shows Dunham had sprayed water on the floor and then laid down feigning injury, the warrant states.
Dunham was arrested at her home by Inspectors from the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Bureau of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney. She was arraigned this morning and held in lieu of a $10,000 court set bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for August 15, 2013, in New Haven Superior Court, G.A. No. 23.
The charge is merely an accusation and Dunham is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Control Bureau of the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office.
Source: CT Division of Criminal Justice