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How Insurance Agents Spot False Claims

March 12, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

Insurance company statistics show more fraud occurs in down economies. As the economy gets shakier, people start to look for more and varied ways to turn some quick cash. Insurance fraud often looks like an easy payday when times get tough but the truth is, it can not only cost you some hefty fines but some jail time as well. Fraudsters believe that if their fake claims are small, they will slide by under the radar but that just isn’t true. When times get tough, insurance companies know fake claims will be on the rise. That is why they have special teams of agents with experience in law enforcement to conduct thorough investigations and sniff out false claims.

Insurance fraud is any deliberate action from a consumer, agent, company or adjuster made to obtain an unlawful financial gain. This deliberate action can happen at any juncture of the insurance process including selling, buying, using or underwriting. Insurance fraud will either be from an individual committing fraud against the consumer or against the insurance company. It is estimated that over a hundred billion dollars in false claims are made each year causing higher prices for consumers and an inability of the companies to properly compete with other companies as well as their future feasibility.

Stopping insurance fraud and even recognizing it, is harder and harder as fraudsters come up with more elaborate and efficient ways of ripping off the companies. Insurance scams occur in every realm of insurance. Workers comp fraud is rampant as well as medical and health insurance fraud. Auto insurance fraud is the most costly and prevalent. While difficult to prevent, auto insurers Special Investigative Teams have identified the most often used scams and are constantly on the look-out for them.

Agent and Insurer Scams

March 10, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

When people think of insurance scams, they usually assume it is the consumer doing the scamming. That is not always the case, however. There are a plethora of dishonest insurance agents and fake insurance companies that thrive by bilking consumers of their hard-earned cash. Scams run the gamut from misappropriation of funds to collecting premiums on fake policies without any intention or ability to pay out on claims. They will offer policies at incredibly low prices to lure unsuspecting consumers into thinking they are getting the deal of a lifetime when all along they are just getting ripped-off. Knowing their tricks and what to do when you suspect you are a victim are the best ways to prevent getting swindled.

Stolen Premiums and Lapping

Agents can steal premiums by taking them from one customer and appropriating them to a fake customers account. They are then able to steal the money from the nonexistent customer account and place it in their own pocket. They use the money to feed addictions like gambling and drugs or to better their own lifestyle with luxury goods and services. They can also steal the money you give them for premiums before it is ever credited to your account.

When Is It Too Late to Sue For Medical Malpractice?

March 8, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

As patients, we trust the doctors we go to with our lives. We trust that their decisions are the right ones and that they possess the skill level they say they do. We expect this level of professionalism from everyone in the healthcare field, and when we are injured by someone who we have entrusted our health too, the harm is tenfold. While doctors, nurses and therapists do make mistakes, it is when those mistakes are negligent and causes harm to the patient when a malpractice suit may be necessary. Medical malpractice lawsuits, however, must be made in a timely manner or a judge will not see the case. This is called a statute of limitation.

Statute of Limitations

All medical malpractice lawsuits are subject to a statute of limitations, which is a specified amount of time during which a patient has to file a lawsuit. This time limit depends upon the state in which the injury occurred and the type of case. It can span from one or two years to as many as ten. California has a short statute of limitations on medical malpractice and could be as little as six to twelve months depending on the case. Filing a medical malpractice case in California within a one year time frame from the injury ensures that a judge will likely hear the case. filing later could result in the case being dismissed.

Driving and Drinking the Number One Cause of Automobile Accidents

September 20, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

You’ve seen the popular drunk driving PSA commercials all over your television screen. You may have read the blogs headlining a famous celebrity’s DUI. Even worse, you’ve watched your local news and seen some of the fatal accidents that have occurred right in your town as a result of someone operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Yes, drinking and driving is so prevalent that it has now become the number one cause of automobile accidents. In the state of California in the past year, there have been 774 DUI fatalities and well over a quarter of a million people were third time DUI offenders.

The Mindset of A Drunk Driver

Most people, including DUI offenders can reason that driving while intoxicated is dangerous, that’s it’s both legally and morally wrong. Alcohol interferes with the way that the central nervous system functions which prevents the brain from functioning like it normally would. When a person is intoxicated their mind and process of thinking is severely altered. Alcohol changes your sense of judgment and the depth of a person’s perception. It also affects basic and vital driving skills.

Kaiser Birth Injury Attorney in Sacramento, CA – A Necessity!

March 29, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

Are you having a baby at one of Kaiser’s hospitals? If so, you are probably expecting to have a smooth delivery. This is what happens in most deliveries. Nothing goes wrong and the baby is born safely. The truth of the matter is that not all deliveries take place smoothly. In some cases, babies come out of the womb with different types of deformities, diseases, and sicknesses just to name a few. According to doctors, some babies are born in breached positions. As a result, they can suffer from an injury, which is known as birth injury. The examples given above show how these types of issues take place naturally. In other instances, a serious problem or deformity is possibly the fault of the doctor trying to deliver the baby. In case of these situations, it is necessary to turn to a birth injury solicitor in Sacramento, CA.

Some parents think that they can fight their cases on their own just because a lawyer cannot understand their case as well as they themselves can do. The truth of the matter is that getting angry cannot help you resolve your case in the court. In such situations, you would need a solicitor to help you get through all the difficult processes. Without one, it may become a tricky thing for you to get the case resolved.

Just try to think on it. Whenever a case is filed against a doctor or a hospital, the case filer goes through a number of difficulties. The reason is that most of the facilities have expert solicitors on their staff. They hire these solicitors in order to help them deal with these types of cases. Whenever they come across a legal problem, they at once turn to their hired solicitors for help. Therefore, it becomes hard for you to deal with your case alone. You need someone to help you.

Personal Injury Lawyers in Sacramento, CA – A Guide To General and Special Damages

March 15, 2013 | by Moseley Collins

It hurts when you sustain an injury due to another person’s negligence. People sustain personal injuries due to various reasons and at any time in their lives. However, the most common sorts of personal injuries are auto and motorcycle crashes, slip and fall accidents and workplace accidents. It is possible to acquire compensation no matter if you have a personal injury case or an auto accident case. In this article, we are going to highlight the claim you can make in the occurrence of a personal injury in California. This article will also talk about the measures you can take to file a successful claim.

General Damages

The term general damages refers to the severity of injury you sustained and the affect of the injury on your life down the road. Based on the previous claims made by different victims, the court can announce its verdict. Moreover, the court will award general damages based on the same thing.

Four Questions You Must Ask a Personal Injury Solicitor before Appointing Him

December 20, 2012 | by Moseley Collins

Accident victims have to deal with plenty of problems. Aside from physical injuries, they have to suffer emotional pain and financial loss. Injured parties are in immediate need to recover losses and fix damages after an accident. Personal injury experts help the injured parties by filing a case and recovering compensation. But keep in mind that not all lawyers have the same level of proficiency.

You should choose a lawyer based on his or her credentials, abilities, experience and authorizations. In addition to this, you have to check on a few more things prior to hiring a lawyer. Given below are four important questions you may ask your lawyer before hiring.

Experience of the lawyer

Man Alleges Negligent Treatment At San Francisco Hospital Caused Arm Nerve Damage

May 9, 2012 | by Moseley Collins

The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a medical malpractice case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court. It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco General, California Pacific Medical Center, or St. Francis Memorial Hospital.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury case and its proceedings.)

INJURIES: Jermaine claimed he sustained radial nerve damage in his dominant, left arm, as a result of the surgery performed by Euick. He claimed he suffers intractable neuropathic pain, as well as motor loss, in the arm. Jermaine has been on constant pain medication since the surgery.

Facts:

On July 21, 2006, plaintiff John Jermaine, 42, a heavy-equipment operator, underwent surgery to have what was diagnosed as a benign mass removed from his upper left arm. The surgery was performed by Dr. Jeffery Euick, who Jermaine was referred to by his general practitioner, and took place at San Francisco Hospital in San Francisco.

After surgery, Jermaine claimed he experienced muscle weakness and severe nerve pain. The mass was later diagnosed as a leiomyosarcoma, or a cancerous tumor. Jermaine underwent a subsequent surgery at UCLA Medical Center to excise further along the margins of the removed tumor.

Jermaine sued Euick and his employer alleging medical malpractice. He accused Euick of negligent treatment and claimed he failed to properly test and diagnose his cancerous tumor. He alleged his employer was vicariously liable for Euick’s actions.

Jermaine claimed Euick was negligent for failing to order and obtain a pre-operative MRI for surgical planning and for proceeding with a surgery that was more difficult than expected. He alleged Euick failed to diagnose the tumor as malignant, and should have performed a more timely biopsy, before the surgery. Jermaine further claimed that Euick was in way over his head, and that he should have been referred to an oncologic surgeon at a specialty hospital or tertiary center.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Catastrophic Sacramento Truck Accident Results in $4 Million Lawsuit, Part 1 of 3

January 4, 2012 | by Moseley Collins

The following blog entry is written to illustrate how a car accident lawsuit might follow. Reviewing this kind of case should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this car accident lawsuit and its proceedings.)

SUMMARY:
Verdict/Judgment: Plaintiff
Verdict/Judgment Amount: $4,271,079
Range: $2,000,000-$4,999,999
$771,079 awarded on the survivorship claim; $500,000 on the lost consortium claim; and $3,000,000 on the wrongful death claim.
Trial Type: Jury
Trial Length: 8 days.
Deliberations: 2.5 days.

Jury Poll: 11-1 survivorship; 10-2 lost consortium/wrongful death.

CASE INFORMATION

According to Plaintiff: Plaintiffs’ decedent died from injuries sustained when defendants’ truck allegedly crossed over the centerline and collided with decedent’s pickup causing the pickup to move into the path of an oncoming truck. The plaintiffs were Camille Merry and others.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Driver Killed By Suspected Drunk Driver on Wrong Side of the freeway

August 11, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

Saturday, July 26th, Ruel Balangue was killed instantly by a suspected drunk driver who was driving her car on the wrong side of the freeway. Balangue was driving home at about :52 a.m. when he apparently saw a Pontiac Grand Prix heading west in the same lane heading toward him. He died immediately, and the woman driving the other car suffered minor injuries and was transported to Highland Hospital in Oakland. She was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence.

Many people are the victim of a drunk driving accident. According to www.alcoholalert.com

All 50 states in the US and Puerto Rico now apply two statutory offenses to driving under the influence of alcohol. The first (and original) offense is known either as driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated/impaired (DWI), or operating [a motor vehicle] while intoxicated/impaired (OWI). This is based upon a police officer’s observations (driving behavior, slurred speech, the results of a roadside sobriety test, etc.)