 EBCA Golf Committee members, Steve Drake, of Restoration Clean-Up Co., and Tom McIver, of CRDN were signing people up for the August 15, 2008 tournament. |
 Lisa Schwichtenberg, of Belfor, and EBCA Secretary, Justine Bone, of DataSafe, greeted May meeting attendees. |
 EBCA President Kelly Sullivan greets the “Catorce de Mayo” crowd at La Tapatia. |
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 A large crowd of EBCA members and guests turned out for the May luncheon meeting at La Tapatia. |
 Ryon Hayward with new ServiceMaster Associate; and EBCA Sec. Justine Bone, of DataSafe, Inc. |
 EBCA President Kelly Sullivan thanks guest speaker Irene Takahashi. |
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 Lisa Smith, of Matson Driscoll & Damico, left, and Chris Hartnett, of Archer Morris, at the May luncheon. |
 Pam Phillips, of Sams & Associates, and EBCA Board Member, Lisa Winn, of Vanderbuilt Construction. |
 Congratulations to 50/50 raffle winner Brian Saari, of Har-Bro General Contractors. |
 Thanks to Lisa Schwichtenberg and Belfor for their centerpiece decorations... a small picnic cooler full of goodies, which were raffled off at the end of the meeting. |
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 Ricelli Mordecai, of Paul Davis Restoration, at the May EBCA luncheon. |
 Kim MacFarlane, of PW Stephens, Inc. and Denise Garcia, of Marriott Execustay Insurance Housing Solutions. Denise was also present as 2008 President of the Central Coast Claims Association. |
 Frances Hewitt, EBCA Golf Chair, pulls down a 12-pack of Corona as a door prize. |
 Lisa Ramey, now of ServPro Berkeley, chats with Ed Melgoza, of Mark Scott Construction, following the May luncheon. |
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Takahashi demonstrates results of Subrosa Investigation at May luncheon
A festive air circulated around the big room at La Tapatia Mexican Grill in Concord May 14, as the East Bay Claims Association celebrated a post-cinco de mayo, or “Catorce de Mayo” luncheon event. A fine buffet was laid out for the full room of members and guests. Getting through the full line took a bit longer than one might have hoped, but the food was well worth the wait.
East Bay Claims President, Kelly Sullivan, greeted the group and, following self-introductions, introduced her counterpart in the south bay, Denise Garcia, president of the Central Coast Claims Association. Denise briefly announced the CCCA Golf Tournament happening this Friday, June 6th at Coyote Creek Golf Course in San Jose. For more on that, go to: www.CentralCoastClaims.org.
Guest speaker for the day, Irene Takahashi, with Lewis Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith LLP, and a former Contra Costa County Judge, gave a fascinating presentation demonstrating the use of Subrosa Investigations to cipher out fraudulent claimants.
“With the economy the way it is now, desperate people will do desperate things,” she stated. Whether desperate or just lacking in morals, the particular case she presented included numerous video clips of a man who had indeed suffered a pretty serious work injury, having his left arm tendons severed accidently during a fire at Hamilton Air Force Base. He had continuing pain following surgery, and continued to claim minimal ability to use the arm, even for holding his child.
As the case stretched out and he continued receiving full wages (Workers Comp. and union compensation), suspicions began to arise that he was perhaps milking the system.
“In a case like this you can justify the added expense of a Subrosa Investigator,” Ms. Takahashi stated. “It takes time, and is not an automatic remedy,” she said. But obviously an effective tool when it works.
Ms. Takahashi’s videos caught the man doing a variety of tasks with complete and full use of his left arm, with seemingly no concern for it at all. The case was settled for a fraction of their demand.
“It’s important that you give your Subrosa Investigator specific direction,” she said. Times, places, types of activities can go a long way in setting up video surveillance. Five days of footage, in this instance, cost about $2,000. Well worth the money saved on the other end.
Abuse of a system set up for those who really are in need hampers that system in the long run, and can create undue added stress for actual victims.
 April guest speaker and longtime member Harry Maurer, Risk Manager for City of Vallejo, with Pres. Kelly Sullivan. |
 EBCA Board members Ray Depa, of Crawford & Co. and Tom McIver, of CRDN ran the door prize drawings. |
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