Workers' Compensation: Surveillance

A legal claim for compensation can be made based on any type of accident compensation claim. The law allows insurance companies to employ the services of an investigator to perform surveillance on an injured worker. The types of surveillance that an investigator can perform include following the injured worker, speaking with neighbors about the injured worker, and videotaping the injured worker conducting normal activities in public. Investigators may not trespass or take pictures of an injured worker in his or her home. However, an investigator may follow the injured worker for a period of time in an attempt to find him or her taking part in activities that may be outside of his or her work restrictions or beyond the level of disability that the injured worker is claiming.

The investigator may follow the injured worker for a number of days and see if he/she engages in any physical activity that may be outside of his/her work restrictions or the level of disability that the injured worker is claiming.

Additionally, surveillance may include persons calling the injured worker under false pretenses, such as "products testing" in which they state they are with an organization and that the injured worker has been selected at random to test certain consumer products. An appointment could be made to meet the injured worker in person, at which time they would encourage the injured worker to perform activities such as unloading boxes of products or perform other activities excepting his/her medical restrictions.

While the law recognizes that surveillance videotapes may be misleading, Magistrates usually do consider this evidence to some extent. A videotape of an injured worker performing activities could be very damaging to the case. This is especially true if the injured worker is found on tape performing physical activity exceeding his/her medical restrictions on one of his/her good days. The investigator is unable to submit a tape showing the injured worker is unable to work, only those that show physical activity which may be misleading. The injured worker may have a hard time proving that he/she is unable to perform the level of activity seen on the tape and may place his/her receipt of workers' compensation benefits in jeopardy.

Many claims are terminated due to surveillance. If your claim is terminated due to surveillance or other investigative tools, it is imperative that you seek out counsel during the administrative appeal process, to secure and protect your rights and develop powerful arguments that will help you succeed on your claim.