The most common fake injury claims involve car accidents. Insurance companies spend millions of dollars every year investigating and prosecuting fake claims and in some cases, the perpetrators wind up in criminal courts.
Other examples of fraudulent injury claims include staged slips and falls, unfounded product liability claims, exaggerated workers compensation claims.
Unfortunately, honest people pay the price for fake injury claims and insurers would rather pass on the cost of investigating claims by increasing premiums.
Another challenge that fake injury claims pose is the fact that they make it harder for genuine people to get fair compensation for genuine claims.
This is especially true for people that suffer from soft tissue injuries such as whiplash. You are tasked with the burden of proving that your injuries are serious and you deserve poor compensation.
If you think your insurance adjuster is acting in bad faith, contact a personal injury lawyer immediately. They are skilled negotiators and have years of experience handling insurance claims.
How Insurance Companies Identify Fake Injury Claims
How can insurance companies tell that your injuries are fake or that you are blaming the other party for an accident that was actually your fault?
Different Types of Fake Injury Claims
Soft Fraud
It’s the most common because it’s easy to exaggerate an injury in order to receive more monetary compensation. You can also fake that a prior injury as basis for a new claim.
Hard Fraud
This type is serious and it’s usually premeditated. Claimants may stage accidents or invent situations that lead to fake or real injuries. Such cases attract both civil and criminal penalties.
It’s not easy for insurers to identify fake claims because there’s a fine line between acting in bad faith and not paying false injury claims.
Common Fake Injury Scams
Fake Pedestrian accident
This one is pretty straightforward. A scammer will jump in front of a moving car in order to collect an insurance check.
Phantom Passengers
A passenger out of nowhere can jump into the scammer’s car and fake they too were hurt during the accident. Most times the victim driver won’t even notice this because there is usually so much confusion and chaos after a car accident.
Swoop and Squat
Scammers will box you in in traffic. They’re usually two or three of them. One scammer will block you using his car from the front and another one will pull up to your side. The one in the front car will suddenly hit their brakes knowing very well there will be no way for you to avoid an accident and you will collide with one of their cars.
Panic Stop
An older car model full of passengers will pull in front of you and monitor you waiting for the moment when you are distracted. As soon as you look away they will step on the brakes and you will rear end their car. All the passengers in the scammer’s car will fake an injury.
Driver Down
This happens when you approach a left turn or merging lanes. The scammer will be the one with a right of way and they will wave you through. As soon as you proceed, they will hit on the gas and crash into your car. They will deny giving you right of way, blame you for the accident and their injuries.
How Long Should You Wait Before Filing a Personal Injury Claim?
Red Flags in a Fake Injury Claim
While insurers might launch their own investigation to get to the bottom of a claim, it’s important that you know which signs to look out for to avoid paying for a fake injury claim.
They insist on cash payments
Scammers always insist on cash payments because they do not want to involve your insurance company and they also want to save you time by not taking you through the whole claims process. While this might sound very convenient, keep in mind that scammers will take you money and still file a claim with your insurer.
How the Car Accident Settlement Process Works in New Bedford, MA
Tow truck
If a tow truck shows up a few minutes after the accident yet no one called them, they might be part of the scam and probably helped to stage the accident.
Unsolicited advice
Suddenly there is an expert lawyer at the accident scene or a physician who can assess the scammer’s injuries and conclude how severe they are.
How to Avoid Paying for a Fake Injury Claim
- Call 911 after an accident
- Call your insurance company
- Take photos and videos of the accident scene
- Get independent witness statements
- Record what is said
