My 16 yr old daughter had a car accident one Saturday on a gravel road a little over a month ago and slide off the road into a fence traveling 25 to 30 mph. It wasn't a real serious accident but did do some damage to the front bumper of the car and slight damage to the hood.
She had a very good friend in the car with her she's run around with for years along with her boyfriend and both seemed to be NOT hurt at the time. The air bags didn't go off nor was the windshield broken. They all said it wasn't a hard impact accident but more of a sliding off the road stop when it happened.
Everyone was asked if they were OK and they all said they were just fine b/c they weren't going that fast. When the father arrived to pick his daughter up a short while later I told him what had happened and he asked her if she was OK and she said she was just fine. The father then had a huge grin come on his face which I figure now was a light bulb moment for him since he just so happens to be a PI for a personal injury attorney in a near by town.
This friend goes to school on the following Monday and tells my daughter her shoulder is a little sore but thinks its maybe from sleeping in a chair. The following day she tells my daughter that she is going to probably have to go to a chiropractor since her shoulder isn't any better. After the visit to the Dr. she tells my daughter that the Dr said it couldn't have been from sleeping in a chair and it was her neck instead of her shoulder and she has a serious neck injury called WHIPLASH and that it would cost around $5,000 to treat her. (I would be willing to bet money this Dr works with this same attorney on many cases but that might be hard for us to prove.)
Long story short, they are now talking to my insurance company about this but haven't settled it yet. If I thought for a minute the child was hurt I would understand fully but under the circumstances I know the father is in a huge bind for money and can't afford a vehicle for his daughter right now so I feel he is using this to buy a car for her. I can almost promise the girl will have a car after they settle this suit and the money will be long gone. I have several pictures of this girl just this past week putting her foot behind her injured neck in athletics class w/ two people witnessing her do this with ease. She hasn't missed any school other than the one day to go to the chiropractor and seems to be just fine. We also have inside information coming from someone who works for this same attorneys office that they have plans on bleeding our PIP insurance for all its worth.
Should I notify my insurance company about the photo's I have and the information I have on their plans or wait till they settle??? Also doesn't this sound like a serious crime?? I can't help but believe this is nothing more than insurance fraud but our fear is if our insurance doesn't settle with them after seeing the pictures and what we have heard then they will come after us with a civil suit.
Any advice on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated.
She had a very good friend in the car with her she's run around with for years along with her boyfriend and both seemed to be NOT hurt at the time. The air bags didn't go off nor was the windshield broken. They all said it wasn't a hard impact accident but more of a sliding off the road stop when it happened.
Everyone was asked if they were OK and they all said they were just fine b/c they weren't going that fast. When the father arrived to pick his daughter up a short while later I told him what had happened and he asked her if she was OK and she said she was just fine. The father then had a huge grin come on his face which I figure now was a light bulb moment for him since he just so happens to be a PI for a personal injury attorney in a near by town.
This friend goes to school on the following Monday and tells my daughter her shoulder is a little sore but thinks its maybe from sleeping in a chair. The following day she tells my daughter that she is going to probably have to go to a chiropractor since her shoulder isn't any better. After the visit to the Dr. she tells my daughter that the Dr said it couldn't have been from sleeping in a chair and it was her neck instead of her shoulder and she has a serious neck injury called WHIPLASH and that it would cost around $5,000 to treat her. (I would be willing to bet money this Dr works with this same attorney on many cases but that might be hard for us to prove.)
Long story short, they are now talking to my insurance company about this but haven't settled it yet. If I thought for a minute the child was hurt I would understand fully but under the circumstances I know the father is in a huge bind for money and can't afford a vehicle for his daughter right now so I feel he is using this to buy a car for her. I can almost promise the girl will have a car after they settle this suit and the money will be long gone. I have several pictures of this girl just this past week putting her foot behind her injured neck in athletics class w/ two people witnessing her do this with ease. She hasn't missed any school other than the one day to go to the chiropractor and seems to be just fine. We also have inside information coming from someone who works for this same attorneys office that they have plans on bleeding our PIP insurance for all its worth.
Should I notify my insurance company about the photo's I have and the information I have on their plans or wait till they settle??? Also doesn't this sound like a serious crime?? I can't help but believe this is nothing more than insurance fraud but our fear is if our insurance doesn't settle with them after seeing the pictures and what we have heard then they will come after us with a civil suit.
Any advice on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated.
