N.D. Man Pleads Guilty in Comp Case

A Mandan, N.D., man was ordered to pay more than $40,000 in back premium and penalties to Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI) after pleading guilty to a charge of failure to secure workers’ compensation coverage for his employees, a Class C felony.

South Central District Court Judge Bruce Romanick also ordered 54-year-old William Klesalek to serve two years supervised probation and to pay for all the costs associated with his supervision.

The case against Klesalek began in June 2001 after an injured worker contacted WSI’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and filed a report against Klesalek. The injured worker reported that Klesalek had asked him to not file a workers’ comp claim. Klesalek also allegedly instructed the injured worker to lie to the treating doctor regarding the nature and cause of his workplace injury.

The accident occurred on June 28, 2001, when the walls of a 12-foot trench caved in on the injured worker. After escaping the trench, the injured worker’s request for ambulance transportation to a medical facility was denied. Instead he was transported by pick-up truck to a shop in Mandan. Then, Klesalek reportedly instructed him to change his story about how the accident happened before Klesalek would agree to transport him to a nearby hospital.

The injured worker later told investigators he was in so much pain that he went along with the story in order to get treatment for his injuries. A few days later he reported what happened to investigators from WSI.

Recently, Klesalek was ordered to pay $10,320 in past due premiums on his 12 employees from 1996-2001 and fined triple that amount.