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Web of Lies: Exposing Fraudulent Claims

  1. Cautionary Tale about Fraud
  2. Fraud Claims and Their Impact
    1. Rise in Fraud Claims
      1. Studies show that there has been a huge rise in staged accidents in the last 5 years.
        1. States with highest volume of staged accidents:
          1. New Jersey
          2. New York
          3. California
          4. Florida
          5. Louisiana
        2. Why 18-wheelers?
          1. They are the perceived “deep pocket.” There was an increase from 2014-2019 in the number of verdicts exceeding $1 million—rose by 1000+%.
        3. Common Schemes
          1. Swoop and squat
            1. This typically involves three vehicles, two driven by criminals, and the third by an innocent victim. The driver of the “squat” vehicle pulls in front of the victim’s car. The driver of the “swoop” vehicle pulls in front of the squat vehicle, causing the driver of the squat vehicle to hit his brakes. The victim cannot react in time and rear-ends the squat vehicle. The swoop vehicle races off and is not seen again. The victim then typically is responsible for any vehicle damage and personal injury to passengers in the squat vehicle.
          2. Sideswipe
            1. A perpetrator vehicle swerves into the victim and claims that the victim crossed over into their lane.
          3. Slammer
            1. Similar to the swoop and squat, this typically involves three to four vehicles, three driven by criminals, and the fourth by an innocent victim. The first vehicle is the “slammer,” who will spot the 18-wheeler and slam his vehicle into the victim’s vehicle in a manner that may or may not alert the victim to the impact. The impact is usually to the side of the victim’s vehicle and/or to the rear of the trailer. If the victim does not pull over, then a third vehicle will appear, which we refer to as the “spotter,” who has been creeping the shadows, following the 18-wheeler. The spotter will then flag down the victim and get him or her to pull over or return to the area where the incident occurred. The third vehicle is the “injured vehicle.” This is the vehicle that will include all the parties who will later file a false claim against the insurance company. The injured parties will switch vehicles with the slammer and go to where the spotter pulled the 18-wheeler over.
          4. Identifying Signs of Fraudulent claims
            1. Multiple passengers (sometime more than should be permitted in the car – e.g. 7 people in a 5 seat vehicle)
            2. “Innocent” bystanders flagging down the driver
            3. Rented vehicles
            4. Severe pre-existing damage to vehicles
            5. Relationships between claimants (or lack thereof)
            6. Relationships between claimants from other accidents that occurred in an analogous way
            7. A number of accidents occurring in the same area
          5. Impact on the Industry
            1. More risk for our drivers on the road
            2. Higher premiums/SIR
            3. More money spent on litigation
            4. Company reputation/public perception and trust
            5. Diverting resources that are needed in other areas
            6. Potential for nuclear verdicts or higher settlement amounts to avoid nuclear verdict
          6. Best Practices
            1. Industry
              1. Ask questions of the drivers initially to see if there are any signs of fraud
              2. Preservation
                1. Immediately pull the data
                  1. Review of the ECM data
                  2. Telephone logs
                  3. Dash camera footage
                2. Company-issued cell phone
                  1. Swap them out
                  2. Download the data
  • Training our drivers to know the signs of fraud
  1. Attorneys
    1. Send preservation requests to the other side right away
    2. Thorough discovery
  • Persistence

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Misha Logan-Johnson
[email protected]

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