These days, it’s not enough to simply drive carefully, you also have to be on the lookout for scammers who want to target you. The next time you are in a car accident and you feel like something is fishy about the situation, trust your gut.
There are people out there who deliberately get into car accidents so that they can claim injuries and receive massive payouts from your insurance company. If you suspect that you are the victim of such fraud, read on.
1. Seek Legal Assistance Immediately
Rather than trying to confront or investigate things yourself, it is highly recommended that you contact a lawyer quickly. If these are people who are willing to scam you, you never know what they are capable of if you try to confront them.
According to TorHoerman Law, the sooner you hire a lawyer, the faster you can initiate the legal process. Each state has its own laws about how cases of insurance fraud are handled, and a lawyer will know best how to proceed.
Car accident insurance fraud in states like Missouri has been particularly problematic, with multiple cases of faked car accidents. Scammers like Michael Stapleton and Latoya Brown managed to defraud six insurance companies to the tune of $1,234,581.
Similarly, another Missouri man recently pleaded guilty to $1.1 million in insurance fraud, once again, with car accidents.
St. Louis, being a big city, also sees a lot of car accidents. If you live here and end up in a strange situation, get a good St.Louis car accident lawyer as soon as possible.
2. Ensure You Gather Evidence
With a lawyer advising you, things should be much easier. One of the first steps they will take is to gather evidence. This will include multiple photos of the crash site, vehicles, and damages and injuries sustained. If the other party is being cooperative, your lawyer will also be able to obtain a witness statement.
From your side, give your lawyer as much context and evidence as possible. If you have dashcam footage or anything that can be used in your defense, then share those as well.
It’s also important to stress that you have to be honest with your lawyer.
If you played a part in the accident but hid the fact from them and it gets discovered in court, that’s on you.
If you lose the case, yes, it’s your insurance company that pays out, but that will have consequences. These include higher premiums, up to $700 more! and even a portion of the payout if the policy didn’t have full coverage.
3. Cooperate With the Investigation
Once your lawyers get the ball rolling, an investigation will no doubt begin. You will be asked to provide a statement from your side and face a lot of questions.
These questions may also come from the investigators at your insurance company. Ensure that you are cooperating with them to the best of your ability.
During this process, be careful in the submission of documents or evidence. In the stress of the situation, tiny mistakes are easy to make, but they can be a huge problem. Thus, double-check everything before you send them. Even small spelling errors can end up causing problems down the line.
The legal process will now solve the problem, and patience is going to be important. If it’s a simple case, it might be handled within a few weeks. However, complex situations are likely to go on for several months or more.
A Few Tips to Easily Spot Signs of Car Accident Insurance Fraud
Before we conclude, it’s also worth providing a few tell-tale signs of what fraud looks like in this context. Here are four of them:
A. If the party claims injuries that seem way too disproportionate to the actual incident.
B. They show exaggerated reactions about the crash and try to pressure you into admitting fault.
C. They refuse to get medical treatment and try to show everyone their ‘injuries.’
D. Other suspicious people near the crash site colluding with the ‘victim’ to act as witnesses.
These are just a few signs that the accident isn’t just an honest mistake, but an attempt at orchestrating a deliberate situation.
In conclusion, car accident insurance fraud cases are certainly annoying to deal with. They make it difficult to trust people who actually get hurt if a similar situation happens again.
It also drives up your premiums and causes a lot of unnecessary stress. However, being vigilant about the different types of car insurance fraud can help you avoid being a victim in these situations.
