It Figures

$1 Million

Amount earned by participants in an alleged Philadelphia insurance fraud scheme involving former police officers, doctors, lawyers and others. Police say the scheme, which involved staging auto accidents, used six claimants per vehicle to maximize claim and settlement potential.

600

Number of medical errors reported annually in Rhode Island hospitals. The state Senate is debating a new proposal that would require reporting of medical mistakes and near mistakes at hospitals statewide. The proposal comes after a patient at Rhode Island Hospital had the wrong side of his operated on three times.

2,100

Number of people whose personal records — including names addresses and Social Security numbers — were lost by Connecticut’s Department of Labor. Officials say they believe the documents were inadvertently shredded with other records, making the likelihood of identity fraud remote. However, the department is offering two years of credit monitoring services, fraud alerts and identity theft protection to the affected customers.

250

Estimated number of cranes adorning the New York City skyline, an alarming fact to officials who hosted a safety summit one day after a second deadly crane collapse struck the city, killing two. The meeting was called at the behest of local borough officials who said their constituents were “afraid to sit on their couches” for fear of being injured in a collapse. The city is reevaluating its inspection process for the cranes.

2

Number of community colleges in Connecticut that will soon offer associate’s degree programs in insurance and financials services. The program, approved late last month, was created to boost employment in occupations such as financial management and analysis, accounting, auditing and underwriting. The programs will be offered this fall at Capital Community College in Hartford and Norwalk Community College.