Sometimes, a whistleblower case can bring important information to light which can form the basis for other lawsuits. Specifically, a whistleblower lawsuit that was brought against State Farm by two former independent claims adjusters has led to an additional investigation into whether fraud may have occurred in other State Farm cases involving property damage claims related to Hurricane Katrina.
The whistleblower lawsuit against State Farm was brought by Cori and Kerry Rigsby who claimed that State Farm employees, in attempt to avoid paying out valid property damage claims, were fraudulently pressuring engineers to classify property damage as flood damage instead of wind damage. State Farm is a private insurer that issues policies that cover wind damage but not flood damage. Hence, if the damage to a property is caused by a flood, the company does not have to pay the claim.
It is possible that if State Farm employees did improperly shift the burden of paying one storm damage claim that they should have paid over to the federal flood insurance program, the company could also have done so in thousands of other Hurricane Katrina storm damage claims throughout the state of Mississippi. In some cases, it was difficult to classify storm damage as clearly having been caused by wind or water, especially when all that remained of a building was a bare slab. There is least one case in which it has been conclusively established that State Farm acted fraudulently in classifying damage as having been caused by water when it had in fact been caused by wind. Depending upon the amount of fraud that actually occurred, the federal flood insurance program may have paid out many hundreds of thousands of dollars on claims that should have been covered by State Farm.
Barrett Law PLLC: Top Quality Legal Assistance for Mississippi Whistleblowers
When a lawsuit brought by a whistleblower exposes conduct that could possibly give rise to other lawsuits, the whistleblowers involved in that case can feel confident that their actions could go a long way towards serving the greater good. Whistleblower cases are not easy, though, and whistleblowers need support that they can count on. The Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC will do whatever they can to help you with your whistleblower claim. Our attorneys know that you may have concerns or questions as your whistleblower case moves along, and we can help you find the answers that you need. To learn more about Mississippi whistleblower lawsuits and about how we can help you, please call the experienced and dedicated Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC today at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule your free, initial consultation.