The morning times., 1896-08-30
People Who Feign to Defraud
Insurance Companies.
EXPOSED BY SPECIALISTS
Surgeons Throughout the
Land Are Seeking to Show
Up Their Shams.
lCopYright. 1861

to people who have pretended to be SICK,
and to protect themselves these companies
are training new class ofspecialists. whose
main study is human character. 1t Is only
a question OF time before their speciality is
added to the curriculum in medical COL
leges, and people who simulate the symp-
toms OF vario1s diseases for the hope Of
gain, for sympathy or any Other cause, Will
have a much harder time before them
than they have ha in the past.
No other class of medical men In the
world have to deal with slch peculiar lot
OF patients as the new specialists. Their
idea is not to cure people, but by their
exhaustive knowledge to show that people
who feign illness OF one kind or another
are, in fact, well.
SOME OF THE TRICKS.
Already these specialists are being en-
ployeu by railway companies, by insurance
corporations and other business enter
prises which. through their relation to the
public, make them peculiarly a prey to tbs
class of fraud all over the country.
In the past these corporations have been
imposed upon TO an extent almost beyond
belief The method of the specialist in
malingerng is peculiar. In the first place,
when he begins his work on person sus
pected of feigDing illness, he puts aside.
the matter of symptoms entirely and looks
simply TO the PERSONS moral character.
If he finds upon investigation that the
patient is of Lad moral character that he
is untruthful and a schemer and associates
with people of this class. that is set down
as supporting the theory of feigning. Such
person would not be above malingering
and the next step is made by the specialist.
He looks for a motive. II the patient
by remaining sick, crippled or dsordered
is to receive money. he excused from work
or allowed to sojourD in some charitable in
stitutop, that, in the mind Of the specialist,
is accumulaiive evidence against him. Now
the specialist takes the patient himself
under investigation. He locks to the ex-
tent of the injury which is claimed.
DETECTING IMPoSToRS. .p
He asks for the most minute details re-
garding the pains which are said to be
felt, whether they are intermittent or
constant. From the perfect knowledge of
the specialist he is able to find out whether
the patient is consistent in what he tells.
The malingerer not being medical man,
he naturally does not know all the symp-
toms Of the disease which he attempts to
simulate. In the case of a man who claims
that his right arm was paralyZed and USE
less such symptoms We're given that the
physician concluded that the man was
shamming. The rest was easy He
dropped Il little weak sulphuric acid ON
the bare skin of the afflicted member aud
1t WAS immediately cured of its inactivity
The specialist has also to study the facial
expression. Very few people are experts
in deception. The experts have found
out that the heart of man is naturally
honest. aud that attempts to deceive are
often betrayed by the expression of the
counteuance. The specialist looks his pa
tient sqnarely in the eyes, and he has
found that person who is fcignng will
never look his examiner in the face. but
his counteuance will he bent upon the floor
and his answers will he guarded and
evasvc.
REDUCED To A SCIENCE.
study has been made by the specialists
of just how the various diseases are feigre,!
1t has been found that the Inalingerers often
resort to the most peculiar practices in
order TO accomplish their purpose, and a
record Of thousands OF known cases has
'eeh ''u arc Sone Ill WHICH
~, a st, inf oa,ie " So,
others have broken a tooth. others who
have cut off fingers, and even cases where
men have gOuged out one of their eyes.
1t is known that there is scarcely an all
ment or disease known that has not been
simulated at one time or another by this
class of imposters With the railway com.
NAMES. the princiual aiJ,,.nt most ofto,
feipned is concussion or tho spino moro
generally known ms railway sninc Lone
aao il was discovered by uaIinrerers thar
the symptoms of this ailment were easy Of
stimulation. and that detection was almost
an iIppossitility If is believed there is
scarcely n railrood accident of any n,cp,;on
which happeps throupbt the country. but
hat some n.ssonpor mats i, , claim for
la images as a sufferer of railway spin, AS
he result of in iuries received and the rail. |
way physicians of The country believc that
IN ernormous percer,a ee of s,,eh cases ar.
bopus !
Hundreds Of cases arc an recor, which
ave beep cl,s.I, ro,,owed nv ,to r,ilro.d |
after II. ,nay.s b,v,. hccn recov.
prod rror, ,bc,n whora tbe s,rsornrs rocov.
pred entirely from, the effect of this broad |
disease once the ,nopey was i, their bap,s
HOW ONE WAS DUPED.
One of these record cases, which differs |
title from that of hundreds of others, is |
hat of man, who, having received a
slight Injury in railroad wreck MAIN
tained that he was suffering from railway |
spine. The attendant physician believed
him TO be feignins, because OF his apparent !
1.Sir