NU Online News Service, May 23, 11:59 a.m.EDT

Allstate Corp.’s Encompass Insurance says it has come out on topin a legal battle with chiropractors in Massachusetts.

The insurer says a ruling in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston isa victory “in the crackdown on insurance fraud.” The court hasordered chiropractors Alan and March Cohen to pay the insurer morethan $1.1 million in damages, Allstate says.

Meanwhile, in New York, Allstate says it added to itsfraud-lawsuit count. Filed in district court under the RacketeerInfluenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the insurer isseeking to get back $2.1 million from 37 New York area defendantswho allegedly “engaged in a scheme in which fraudulent andmisleading bills were submitted to Allstate for durable medicalequipment, medical supplies and orthotic devices,” Allstatesays.

Allstate says Encompass was one of four insurers inMassachusetts to file a countersuit for fraud, conspiracy and RICOviolations against the Cohens, who allegedly submitted bills forwork on patients the insurers claimed were involved in staged autoaccidents.

The chiropractors actually sued first and sought money frominsurers for the services given to patients after auto wrecks.

Apparently, the insurer’s evidence to the contrary was enoughfor the court, which awarded Encompass treble damages, attorneys’fees and other costs. The Cohens’ claims were dismissed,Allstate says.

The insurer’s latest lawsuit in New York is the 29th filed inthe state since 2003, seeking to recover $167 million, saysAllstate, which alleges that the retailers submitted or facilitatedthe submission of fraudulent and misleading bills and medicalrecords to the insurer under New York State's no-fault law.

This is the second fraud-related lawsuit to be filed by theinsurer in New York this year. Earlier this month Allstateannounced it was seeking $4.7 million from doctors who allegedlyfiled fraudulent claims for unnecessary medical tests for accidentvictims. Allstate alleges the tests were “of non-diagnosablequality, served no legitimate purpose and appear to be whollyfabricated.”