NW Indiana car accident lawyer discusses some of the signs that you have been a victim of a staged car accident.

When I used to defend insurance companies in Florida, we would come upon staged accidents all the time. One of the benefits of staging an accident in Florida was the no-fault law that provided up to $10,000 in PIP (medical care) benefits.  Healthcare clinics were owned by criminals, accidents would be staged, and then 5 or so people would claim that they were injured in the crash – allowing the clinic to bill upwards of $50,000.

Yahoo recently published an article providing the 5 signs that you may have been involved in a staged accident:

1. Sudden Stop:  The car in front of you stops suddenly for no apparent reason or quickly moves into your lane and stops suddenly.
2. A car comes out of nowhere at an intersection: This frequently happens when the unsuspecting driver makes a right hand turn.  A car that is parallel parked or in a driveway pulls out causing the crash and claiming that the driver ran the stop sign.
3. You're approached by a runner:  After an accident a person comes up to you and tries to solicit you to go to a certain lawyer or certain clinic.  Running is illegal.
4. Jump-Ins: This technique usually happens in cities where there is a higher population.  After the crash, people will jump-in the car and claim they were passengers.
5. A lot of witnesses: I've been practicing for a while now and I very rarely see car accidents with a number of witnesses or at least witnesses that are willing to come forward.  If there are a bunch of witnesses that show up with a story completely opposite from your story – you should be suspicious.

Nothing good comes out of staged accidents.  For people who are legitimately injured in car accidents – insurance adjusters become hardened and suspicious of all claimants because they've been burned in the past.  For all of us – phony claims make rates go up.

If you have any questions about a Northwest Indiana car accident claim, you can call our Michigan City car accident lawyer at (219) 874-4878 .