Tips For Avoiding Being The Victim Of A Personal Injury Scam
If you have ever fussed at how expensive the premiums are for your insurance coverage, you should know that one reason your premiums are high is due to the many scams that insurers must spend money on for exposing fraudulent claims. Fake insurance claims have always been a part of society. Protecting yourself from an insurance claim that is a scam is important and could save you from being sued and having even higher premiums later on.
Car Accidents And Fake Injuries
If you are involved in an accident, the first thing you need to do if you are able is call the police. Having a police report is vital to you avoiding fake claims made by the other driver. Be sure to talk to witnesses as well, especially if the other driver seems dishonest and acting. For example, if you are hit in an intersection and the other driver gets out of their vehicle screaming he or she is hurting, you might think about that. In most cases, a person that is truly injured in an accident is feeling shock from the trauma and the pain, rendering them less able to jump out of their vehicle screaming about it.
Remembering the words the other driver says right after an accident is important. Called "res gestae" in a court of law, these are declarations that are acceptable in court and admissible as evidence to the legitimacy of the other driver's injury. If a driver gets out of a car after slamming into you saying he or she is okay, then later tries to sue you for severe injuries supposedly sustained in the same accident, you could use the statement "I am okay" as evidence.
Fraud And Your Property Insurance
If someone visits you at your home and suffers an injury while there, that person can sue you for medical bills and receive compensation for any associated pain and suffering. For example, if you have large tree limbs in your yard from a previous storm and the person visiting you suddenly ends up under one, he or she could say in court that it fell on them during their visit when the wind blew too hard, even if that person laid down and placed the limb atop his or her body on purpose. For this reason, making sure you maintain a safe property is vital, especially if you know you are having guests over.
When someone is crying and hurting from a supposed injury, it can be hard to consider that person doing so only for money. However, today, insurance fraud is a common crime. If you think you have been the victim of a fraudulent claim, contacting qualified and experienced personal injury lawyers is a good idea for proving yourself innocent of a lawsuit and its related damages in court.