8 Ways to Spot Fraudulent Personal Injury Claims

For lawyers, businesses, insurance companies, and even you, finding out someone is committing a fraudulent personal injury claim can be a headache as this person is trying to scam money. Not only is this an immoral act, an unethical claim, but it makes a mockery of you or your business.

The best news is that fraudulent personal injury claims are not a new phenomenon, so there are ways to spot if someone is trying to defraud you. According to the staff of brookslawgroup.com that deals with issues of personal injury, lawyers have the expertise to spot a fraudulent claim. A feat that can only be acquired through years of experience. 

Listed below are the ways on how to spot a false claim, so you can ensure that your business, your job, or your finances are not harmed by scheming fraud.

1. Claims History Report

Someone who has submitted numerous injury claims, or insurance claims, might as well be waving a red flag over their heads. An extensive claims history can be indicative that this person has attempted fraudulent claims in the past to gain some unlawful financial compensation. Do some research to see if this person repeats this often.

2. Checking For Suspicious Loss 

Suspicious loss is determined in a list created by the National Insurance Crime Bureau that includes some indicators such as personal injury claims submitted by an employee shortly before termination, suspicious incidents like a family being recently present before a house fire, and claimant being unphased by submitting a large claim. These are not air-tight evidence for fraudulent claims, but they are used because they often do mean someone’s claim is false.

3. Credit History of the Claimant

Again, not air-tight that a fraudulent claim is because of poor credit history, but it is a good start. Poor credit for a claimant means that they might be attempting to gather money from claims adjusters or agents. This is a way that someone can steal from an insurance premium, and it can often be from insurance agents themselves. Credit checks can often reveal if someone is likely to commit fraud this way.

4. Private Investigators

Probably one of the best ways to catch someone in the middle of a fraudulent personal injury claim is to use a private investigator. These investigators will make it a routine to monitor an injury claimant’s condition to see if they are faking it by wearing fake casts, neck collars, or faking some form of injury. This is a classic example of simply catching someone in the act to prove their claim is fraudulent.

5. Monitoring Social Media

In the age of social media, it becomes important for people to let everyone know what they are doing. This can be a bad thing for those trying to fraud a personal injury claim. People tend to overshare on social media, so it can be beneficial to monitor the claimants usage. Going on social media to divulge personal information may lead to a lapse in judgment and reveal the truth that the injuries are fake, or over-exaggerated.

6. Personal Injury Mill

The process of being wrapped up by medical professionals or legal teams that want to cash in on claims is a problem that unfortunately happens. Fluffing up the severity of injuries because medical professionals like chiropractors claim that the injured individual suffered more than they did can help them profit, same with unethical legal individuals. These practices can be caught trying to commit this scam multiple times and this is one way that they can be caught trying to further a fraudulent injury claim.

7. Cross Checking Information

Vehicle accidents, slips, or general injury claims are likely to have a multitude of witnesses. It can be easy to spot a fraudulent claim by cross-checking with those who were involved or saw it and see what details do not match up. Checking for insurance claims on similar incidents can be a good plan, especially if the individual in question has been doing this to game the system with an accomplice.

8. Special Investigators

Private investigators do some leg work in monitoring these claimants, and special investigators are similar except their work is more detailed. They check for damage reports, run computer simulations, investigate auto accident damage, and other very specific aspects. The information they gather is thorough and incredibly helpful for catching serious fraudulent injury claims.

Defrauding insurance companies hurts everyone, and the people responsible for trying to scam with personal injury claims cost them money they do not deserve. These 8 ways to spot a fraudulent claim can help keep money in the hands of those that deserve it, and those that are honest.