Paul R. Lees-Haley, Ph.D.

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Paul R. Lees-Haleyis a psychologist whose treatment and research is in post-traumatic emotional distress, neuropsychological evaluation and disability. He specializes in toxic injury evaluations.

In 1991, Dr. Lees-Haley published a study on the so-called "Fake Bad Scale"(FBS), also known as the Malingerer Test, a psychological assessment tool that he claims can be used to detect “malingering” in personal injury claims and workers’ compensation cases. Lees-Haley defines malingering as

" ... the deliberate simulation or exaggeration of an illness or disability ... to avoid an unpleasant situation or to obtain some type of personal gain. In the personal-injury context, malingering is pretending to be more distressed, more impaired, or more disabled than one is.”

The Fake Bad Scale purports to identify "malingerers" based on their score calculated from responses to 43 true or false questions about somatic and psychological symptoms. Since Lees-Haley published his findings, the FBS has been incorporated into the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and multiple studies have been done to test the Fake Bad Scale’s effectiveness. While some reports support Lees-Haley claims, others have been critical and have started a debate as to whether the Fake Bad Scale labels too many injured people as malingerers.

Tobacco industry consulting

Dr. Lees-Haley served as a consultant to the tobacco industry, according to an invoice from Philip Morris' confidential outside regulatory consulting group, the Washington Technical Information Group, Inc. He assisted the industry in identifying and recruiting scientific experts. Specifically, he assisted with developing list of California epidemiologists. A November 18, 1991 invoice for his services was sent to Christopher J. Proctor, then of the tobacco industry law firm Covington & Burling. The amount charged for Dr. Lees-Haley's time was $930.00.

The industry cited Lees-Haley's work in comments opposing indoor air quality rule-making by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to address secondhand smoke in the workplace.