Cell phone video shows potential insurance fraud

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- With the amount of bicyclists in Southwest Florida, cars and cyclists are continually looking for ways to share the roads.  But in one recent video, a biker appears to emerge unscathed after colliding with a vehicle.  But wait until you see what happens seconds later.

 

In the video shared with Fox 4, a passenger hits the record button on his cell phone shortly after his wife collides with a biker on Palm Beach Boulevard. He stands upright after the collision, but a woman passing by tells him to get back on the ground. 

 

"Stay right there! Stay right there! Then you got 72 to 76 hours to go to the hospital," she tells him. Rather than complain about injuries he makes a fuss about his shades. "Pair of hundred eighty dollar sunglasses!" you can hear him yell in the video.

 

But she insists the glasses cost nothing in comparison to what he could get from an insurance company. "You sue the sh** out of their insurance fund."

 

Four in Your Corner's Malcolm Johnson took a trip to Mr. Auto insurance, a local auto insurance agency, to show the video to agents who've seen cases like this before. Insurance agent Dave Lindback says hitting record on your phone like this driver did is the right move. "Like these people here, they took a minute, record it, report it, that's the most important thing."

 

Important because it could be what prevents you from paying more money in the long run. Somebody's got to pay for that down the line and it's usually not the insurance company, like people think. It's you and I when we get our rates increased when we get our renewals.

 

Attorney Mike Chionopolous says it doesn't only help your insurance rates, but potentially your case in court. "If I were on the jury and I saw that video, it would blow my socks off. I would absolutely find zero damages. I think maybe the states attorney needs to take a look at that."

 

The wife of the man who took the video wants others to learn from their experience. "This guy could've said anything and it would've been my word against his and I wouldn't have had any evidence of what exactly was going on because it was obvious she was coaching him on how to get insurance money," Vanessa Parent says.