Investigation Rocks a Dispatcher’s Claim
By Robert Warne - January 13, 2004 A La Honda woman has learned the hard way that when receiving workers’ compensation payments for a knee injury, it’s not a good idea to limp through town with a cane and lift heavy rocks in the front yard on the same day.
Because of her actions, Anita Beatriz Blick, is now facing six felony counts of workers' compensation fraud.
Blick was an Atherton police dispatcher in 1996 when she claimed she injured her knee after falling down while answering the phone. She had surgery on the knee and never returned to work.
It is likely no attention would have ever been paid to her claim again, but in 2000 her attorney pressed the city of Atherton for a settlement. The pressure from the attorney prompted the city to investigate the validity of her claim.
The subsequent investigation obtained video footage that juxtaposed Blick limping with a cane, supposedly too injured to answer phones, with her working in the garden, squatting and lifting heavy rocks.
She was arraigned Jan. 7 in San Mateo Superior Court for fraudulently collecting over $150,000 in work comp benefits.
Kathryn Alberti, the San Mateo County deputy district attorney said that Blick’s three-year tenure at the police department was marked with other injury claims, according to the Bay City News Service.
Her trial has been set for May 24.
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