As winter encroaches and people have to worry about the icy sidewalks and pavements in front of stores, slip-and-fall incidents inevitably rise.
Unfortunately, not everyone who takes a tumble does so accidentally. Scammers and fraudsters may rely on the age-old tactic of slip-and-fall scams to make some extra money from a business’s insurance.
Defining these scams
Forbes discusses slip-and-fall scams, which are on the rise lately. Compared to 2017, 2019 saw a rise in slip-and-fall fraud cases. But what are these, exactly?
In short, slip-and-fall fraud cases involve any instance where a person intentionally slips and falls within the property boundaries of a business. Their intent? To get the business to pay out through their liability insurance for the injuries they sustained during the fall.
There are several things to look for when attempting to discern if a slip-and-fall incident is true or the result of a scam.
Signs of a slip-and-fall scheme
First, look for the addition of “props.” Many people attempting to gain insurance money from these “accidents” will add things like broken glass in order to exaggerate and inflate their initial claim of injury.
Next, take a look at any witnesses. In most situations, witnesses may or may not come forward. If a witness comes forward with a particularly strong conviction or level of enthusiasm, they might be in on the scheme.
Finally, see if the victim understands insurance procedures and terms. If they immediately launch into a tirade about suing the property owner and have a familiarity with the process, it indicates they may have done it before.