Yes, disability fraud is wrong

A former legal secretary in Massachusetts demonstrates for us what not to do: lie about being disabled. Teresa Brooks sued her employer, law firm Peabody & Arnold, saying they fired her because of her disability, a disabling spinal condition. The law firm said she wasn't disabled at all, and they fired her for lying about it.

The firm knew Brooks had back problems and had provided her with a special chair and with time off for physical therapy. But she claimed she was disabled and couldn't work at all. Brooks had received some disciplinary notes in her personnel file, and her disability claim came shortly after that. The firm became suspicious after hearing rumors of a trip to Disney World, in spite of her claimed total disability.

So they sent out a private detective, and guess what they found? Brooks was videotaped doing physical things that contradicted her disability claims. She was doing yard work, driving forty minutes, and sitting for hours in front of slot machines, when she had claimed that she couldn't work because she wasn't able to sit at her desk. The firm quickly fired Brooks.