Posted on 04/04/2013 10:06:00 AM PDT by Wings-n-Wind
FREEPER HELP PLEASE:
Asking our FR legal-beagles....
...attorneys, investigators, claims adjusters...
(stand-up comics, kibbitzers, and crackpots also welcome to chime in...)
I am researching a person who has demanded an extroardinary insurance settlement--
...for a very minor collision several years ago.
Spidey-sense says possible fraud in the works; perhaps an experienced scammer.
SOoo...
... homework required on personal/criminal/prior claims background??!!?
What is the BEST background check research engine?
(1) Most thorough?
(2) Most reliable?
(3) Secure inquiry & transaction?
(4) Bang for the buck?
Can’t be that long ago...2 years is usually the limit in cases like this. Did they demand from you? or your insurance company? If they are looking for a payout they will be expecting you to give it to your insurance who, based on the case, either fight it (if it costs little to do) or they’ll buy out to the limit of your policy.
It depends on how you found out about this, I guess. If they are asking for millions and don’t have some reasonable evidence of bills and disability, I’d wait and consult with my insurance. Likely they just want a quick payout of what the insurance company is willing to piss away.
I’d also like to say that if it were me that was called by them, or their “lawyer” I’d tell them to get in line with the rest of the creditors in the bankruptcy case, laugh heartily, and then hang the eff up.
I had no insurance due to a mistake on my part, once... and a dumbell tenant tried to sue me...
I told his lawyer there was no insurance I and was broke so there was not going to be ANY Payout...
The lawyer convinced him to drop it.
Try to convince the lawyer there is nothing to pay out- he will give up.
If, after reading the above posts, you still want to research this person, call a private investigator. For $200 or so you can find out what type/size condom he buys.
Having said that, people don’t sue unless there’s insurance involved. It costs $5000 down and $500/hour to operate the legal system. I wouldn’t worry. Even if he has you served, just respond as required. Most of these are dropped.
Hire a lawyer. Let them investigate for you. They’ll do a better job. Search engine investigation isn’t good enough.
There is a statute of limitations on this kind of thing. How long ago was it?
SnakeDoc
If you want a really thorough search, there is no “automated” engine that will do the job for you, because there are many counties and municipalities where criminal records can’t be accessed remotely. You may have to go to the court house and look through the records the old-fashioned way. Most good credit agencies will also do this manual check for you, at least at the last few known residencies of the person in question, but you may have to request it, and there is an additional cost.
Also, they could always have been convicted in a jurisdiction they never lived in, that doesn’t have their records online. In that case, none of the searches/agencies are likely to find that out for you.
If there is any communication, it keeps it open...
It has to be legally provable. Phone call won’t cut it if it isn’t recorded and verified.
What Gen. Blather said. Private investigators have access to much more in-depth information than can be obtained online by the general public. In a lawsuit, it really is worth the money - definitely less expensive than a lawyer.
Who said anything about a phone call?? Emails, fax, texting..It’s really the context of the communication that nails it.
Okay.....so if it is written, can it be proven it was sent and received?
In fact, my son called for advice many years ago. He was going after GM under the lemon law. He did everything he was supposed to do...and one thing more....sent the necessary paperwork to GM...receipt return requested.
In court, GM said they never received the paperwork. My son showed the judge copies of the communication and the signature of it being received by GM.
MY son got a replacement car. GM paid for all his repairs and the court costs.
Why did the judge believe my son over GM??? Because he knew GM lied about the receipt of any communication from my son.
Facebook
You would be amazed what people post
Statute of limitations varies by state. It is 2 years in Texas. Your insurance carrier *at the time the accident occurred* (or allegedly occurred) has to defend, in court, any action that you/ they were liable for during that time. It doesn’t matter if you are no longer a client.
I think what you are wanting is the/ a Property Insurance Loss Register. If you google that, there are pages of hits. There used to be the Southwest Index Bureau (SWIB). They may still exist in some form or for other regions in the country. The first hit for PILR (spelled out) on google does appear to include Bodily Injury claims if that is what they’re alleging.
Public Data has vehicle information for some states, driver information for some states & criminal history/ sex offenders for some states. No particular database is a be all- end all. You can locate some pretty slippery people using the internet & sometimes, going to their last known place of residence. I’m not sure how legal this is for individuals (rather than insurance adjusters). Be careful, though.
Hope this helps.
ps. If you need help, if you will PM me the info you have on the person you’re looking for, I will see what I can find. DH has been a property/ casualty adjuster
(GAB, Crawford, & others) for 35 years, this month. I’ve done some legwork for him on local claims for 26 of those.
Many years ago a lady pulled out from a side street, while her view was blocked.
I had the right of way, churning along at 55.
I broke be hit her.
Cop gave her the ticket.
6 month later I got a letter from her shyster lawyer, demanding all sorts of financial information.
I resisted the urge to respond and just gave it to my insurance company.
They told me to forget about it.
The end.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.