Chicago Personal Injury Attorneys
Slip and fall claims to greater scrutiny and investigation due to a report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (the “NICB”), headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois.
According to a press release from the NICB, insurance companies and law enforcement agencies in 2010 started targeting organized criminal rings that made money by staging phony slip and fall accidents.
“They come into an area and hit several retailers, grocers, or other businesses with sophisticated schemes and professional execution [hoping] to collect a quick payout and move on,” NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle reportedly said.
Wehrle also noted that fraudulent claimants often work in teams, with one person acting as a lookout while the “victim” pours a bottle of liquid on the floor and pretends to fall, rolling around in mock agony when a witness shows up.
As a result of these activities, the NICB started working with insurers to raise the awareness level and urged companies to analyze claims carefully before paying them.
The NICB also indicated that Chicago was one of the five cities with the most questionable slip and fall claims, putting Northern Illinois squarely in the cross-hairs of insurance investigators.
Unfortunately, when a minority of claimants is involved with fraud, it raises the stakes for everyone. All claims become suspect, and all claimants have the processing of their cases stalled out by the microscopic scrutiny of insurance adjusters.
This makes it all the more critical to hire an advocate who is reputable, skilled and savvy at navigating the channels of a case brought against a commercially insured defendant.
If you have a legitimate claim for injuries sustained on the premises of a place of business, you cannot afford to be associated with a lawyer who has anything less than a stellar reputation.
If you or a loved one has suffered a fall, and you are not sure whether you are entitled to compensation from another party or how to obtain a fair settlement, then please do not hesitate to contact our office at (312) 477-2500 to speak with a qualified personal injury attorney who can help you determine if and how you might have been harmed, and what you can do about it. You can also check out our Website for more information about our law firm, Cogan & Power, P.C.