Adding Insult to Injury
Those who fake injuries, caused by the wrongful conduct of others, make it much harder for those with legitimate claims to get the medical care and compensation they deserve. But in the case below cited in the Dallas Business Journal, it isn’t the individual making the false claim, it’s the caregiver! Allegedly, according to the Allstate Insurance petition, this chiropractic organization solicited and coerced individuals into getting treatment for auto accident injuries they may not have sustained. Further, the "patients" were then referred to lawyers who helped perpetrate the claims and assisted the "injured" patients by recovering over $10 million dollars for the victims' "injuries." If this is true, it’s not only an insult to serious medical professionals, it’s an insult to my profession. Schemes like this make it much tougher to get wrongfully injured clients compensated for their injuries. Let's hope the Allstate allegations prove false.
©2008 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com
Allstate sues local chiropractic company
Dallas Business Journal
March 6, 2008
A local chiropractic company and its owner are named in a federal lawsuit alleging insurance fraud.
Allstate Insurance Co. filed the lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas, naming 66 defendants, including Arlington-based Chiropractic Strategies Group Inc. and its owner, Michael Kent Plambeck. Others named include related law office management companies, attorneys, telemarketers and others involved in the alleged fraud scheme.
A call to Chiropractic Strategies Group for comment was not immediately returned.
The suit alleges deception and coercion were used against people involved in automobile accidents at clinics in Texas, Ohio, Indiana and Alabama.
Allstate (NYSE: ALL) is seeking more than $10 million, which is the amount the company says it paid in connection to allegedly fraudulent insurance claims.
According to the 67-page complaint, the chiropractic clinic solicits individuals who have been involved in motor vehicle accidents through telemarketing, which includes calls from a telemarketing operation the organization operates in Kenner, La.
The telemarketers promise the prospective patients a free examination, the lawsuit claims, and at times falsely represents that they are representatives of "Allstate" or an "insurance company."
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of coercing individuals into treatment by telling them they have sustained substantial injuries that require an immediate course of treatment. The complaint further alleges patients are then put through a standardized and unnecessary treatment plan. Once a solicited individual is "converted" into a patient, the lawsuit claims, they are referred to a personal injury law office associated with the organization. The complaint also says that employees at these law offices often come directly to the clinics to "sign up" patients as clients.
©2008 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com
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