Warning About "Staged Car Crashes"


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(Sacramento, CA)
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
You’re driving along when suddenly someone suddenly cuts you off….forcing an accident. Then they start filing all sorts of insurance claims for aches and pains related to the crash. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner says it may be insurance fraud: “These cars that are involved in these accidents are stuffed full of people who then claim to be have all of these neck or back injuries and so there’s chiropractors and doctors and lawyers and accountants and all kinds of folks that are part of the scam here.” Poizner says such scams push insurance rates up for everyone in the state. He says he’s teaming up with district attorneys and law enforcement statewide to aggressively target the staged accidents. The CHP says clues pointing to a scam include: a car packed with passengers or in poor condition – or a sudden stop in traffic that’s flowing smoothly. Poizner says notify the Department of Insurance if you suspect it’s fraud.