Personal Injury Investigations

According to a recent study released, it is estimated that claim “build-up” and fraud add from $5.6 billion to $7.7 billion in excess payments for auto injury claims paid out in the U.S. each year. This doesn’t account for fraud related to other personal injury accidents, such as slip and falls, premises liability cases etc.

Due to this shocking amount of fraud and build-up in personal injury cases, you may be interested in taking the route other attorneys have and utilize the services of an RCI private investigator. With the surveillance abilities and equipment used by RCI International Process Service and Investigations, reducing cases of fraud is possible in personal injury cases.

Types of Insurance Investigations

Investigators at RCI International Process Service and Investigations may look into all different types of claims. For example, we may look into personal injury, slip and fall, product liability, workers’ compensation, disability insurance, healthcare and other types of fraud investigations for law firms and insurance companies involved in these type of claims.

Ways of Defrauding Insurance Companies and How RCIs’ Private Investigators Help

Insurance fraud has occurred for years on end. It is committed in a variety of ways. For example, a common way that homeowner’s insurance fraud is committed is by taking property out of the home and reporting it as stolen. In this type of case, an RCI  private investigator may be able to conduct surveillance to watch where the homeowner goes, such as a pawn shop to pawn the items in question or to a discreet storage location. In other homeowner’s or automotive insurance cases, the claimant may actually commit arson in an attempt to get insurance money. In workers’ compensation cases, the worker may fake or exaggerate an injury. He or she may have been hurt off the job and tries to blame his or her employer for the injury when the employer is not to blame. Personal injury claimants may pretend to be injured.

Surveillance

Surveillance is often conducted on a person who has filed an injury claim. Surveillance may find someone who has claimed to have been seriously injured working on top of a ladder to clean gutters, going horseback riding, taking adventurous trips or conducting home improvement projects. In other situations, claims may be complicated and involve several different people such as a doctor who colludes with accident victims to support fraudulent claims. An injured person may have to see a doctor for treatment regarding the injuries claimed as a result of the accident. We are often able to get photos of a person going into and out of a doctor’s office or a hospital. A person exaggerating or faking an injury is likely to be more on guard when going to the doctor’s office. Surveillance can also help expose fraud, such as by recording a person walking normally until he or she reaches a doctor’s office and then begins limping. They may use a walker or a wheelchair on their way into the medical facility, however as they leave, they suddenly no longer need it. In many of these cases, surveillance can be helpful in gathering vital information for your case assignment.

In other situations, claimants may purchase expensive luxury items, vacations and commodities that are contrary to their regular income, indicating some type of illegal receipt of monies.

Surveillance of injured persons pursuing a personal injury claim is very common. Insurance companies dealing with claims often instruct third parties, such as private detectives, to carry out covert surveillance with the objective of undermining the injured person’s complaints of the injuries sustained and the impact of those injuries on their day to day lives and activities and their credibility.

This surveillance can range from covert video recording (often over a number of days) to searching online social networking sites. Many individuals are not aware how much of their personal information is freely accessible on the internet and how easy it is for third parties to obtain it. There is very little that the law can do to stop an insurance company from carrying out such surveillance.

The reasons for surveillance are simple – for the insurance company to avoid having to pay or to reduce the amount of compensation to be paid. It is unclear how often this occurs because, if the investigations reveal nothing suspicious or are consistent with the injured person’s evidence on the extent of their ongoing symptoms and restrictions, the injured party and their representatives may never know such investigations were ever carried out.

Research

Private investigators at RCI may conduct research into an insurance claim. This may involve reviewing any photographs of the injury or accident, reviewing receipts for property purchases, reviewing repair bills, cross-referencing police report statements with other statements and reviewing other documentation related to the case.

Background Check

Another helpful way that an RCI private investigator can assist in a case is by conducting a background check on the claimant. This can help identify whether the person making the insurance claim has a history of filing claims and whether he or she has been convicted of crimes such as fraud. Additionally, our private investigators may be able to conduct a background check on a person to reveal personal or financial things about the claimant, such as that the claimant is going through a divorce, has fallen behind on bills, has his or her home in foreclosure or other factors that may influence him or her to try to commit insurance fraud.

Contact a Private Investigator at RCI International Process Service and Investigations

Private investigators at RCI  can explain the ways that we can assist in insurance cases. Our extensive experience may be able to help determine whether a claim is valid or not. Additionally, we can discuss the types of tools that we may use to help prove or disprove a claim, whether this means conducting surveillance with the help of multiple investigators, conducting background investigations or by thoroughly reviewing the documents and other evidence available in the case.

Insurance cases require specific skills and the use of particular investigative techniques. And not all investigative services are versed in specific areas of personal injury investigations. At RCI, we are confident in our ability to assist you in this area of expertise.

RCIs’ private investigators may use the following techniques to assist in plaintiff personal injury investigations:

• Interviews and Scene Investigations – RCI investigators will interview witnesses and other individuals who have knowledge of the incident to learn how the accident occurred. We will then be able to provide your office with an easy to follow Q & A transcription of the interview.

• Background Checks and Records Research – An investigation into a personal injury case may include pulling the 911 call audio, CAD call notes, police report, and information on the defendant’s driving history. This information will help you leverage the other side to accept liability for the claim and prepare your firm for depositions.

• Evidence Gathering – RCI investigators will obtain digital photographs and other evidence needed for plaintiff personal injury claims. This could include measuring a crack in a sidewalk, line of sight analysis, gathering video surveillance of an incident scene, identifying additional witnesses not listed on the incident report, and visiting the scene of a crash to take photographs and measurements.
• Process Serving – Our RCI process servers are responsive, professional, and timely with your legal documents.

The surveillance videos and images captured by an RCI private investigator provide undeniable proof of a plaintiff’s injuries, or lack thereof. This can serve as invaluable evidence in a personal injury case.

If you are working to reduce the liability of your client in a personal injury case, using the services of an RCI private investigator and their surveillance abilities can be invaluable.

Call RCI International Process Service and Investigations today for information on how a personal injury surveillance assignment can help your case, as well as the many other litigation support services we offer. We cab be reached at (410) 69308992 or via email at admin@rci-process.com.