Is Workers’ Compensation Insurance Surveillance Legal?
Have you noticed a new vehicle parked outside your home after suffering an injury at work? If so, you are probably under insurance surveillance.
Insurance surveillance is not only real and legal, but it is also common. Companies hire professionals to perform insurance surveillance to protect themselves against fraudulent insurance claims.
The truth is that insurance companies hire these people to spy on you because they don’t want to pay a penny more than they think is necessary.
Unfortunately, because a few unethical people have tried to receive workers’ compensation benefits without actually being injured, employers and insurance companies often immediately assume the worker’s claim of injury is false – and just someone hoping to stay home and get a benefits check.
Well, you know what they say about making assumptions…
Even so, if you have filed a workers’ compensation claim, you may be treated as is you are lying. Or at least that is what it feels like when you discover you are under insurance surveillance.
Read on to understand why you are under insurance surveillance and what you can do about it.
Insurance Surveillance Is Sought-After by Companies
Did you know you can have a career as an insurance fraud investigator? It’s even promoted as a job on various career websites.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics explains, “Insurance investigators handle claims in which the company suspects fraudulent or criminal activity such as arson, staged accidents, or unnecessary medical treatments. […] Investigators often do surveillance work.”
And many people hold this title.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 314,300 insurance claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators in the United States.
The reason there are so many involved in insurance surveillance is that insurance companies are more focused on saving money than on giving away “free money” in the form of workers’ compensation benefits.
If they can catch an employee who says he was injured on the job not “acting” injured, they can dispute a claim and not have to pay benefits.
Think of insurance surveillance investigators as private investigators who are hired to find a cheating spouse. If they get “proof” of cheating, it will help in divorce proceedings.
Employers and companies want to benefit the same way.
In the article I was a private investigator, spying for insurance companies. Here’s what I found for ABC News, the investigator says: “There are thousands of private investigators surveilling insurance claimants right now. The exact number of licensed investigators is unknown — most states don’t maintain registers – but insurance work is their bread and butter. It kept me employed full-time for a year – no cheating spouses, no thieves in the night, just people with a claim that was costing their insurance company money.”
In this same article, the reporter asked why the claimants were most often under insurance surveillance and was told it is often without real cause (such as “He seems suspicious”).
Insurance Surveillance Goes After Individual Cases
You may think your workers’ compensation claim is cut and dry, but you’d be wrong.
Again, insurance companies are in the business of saving money, not spending money. They value profit over people.
So, you absolutely should assume, if you file a workers’ compensation claim, you are under insurance surveillance.
The insurance company will send an investigator to spy on you to see if you “truly” deserve workers’ compensation benefits.
As they go after individual cases, they will get into your personal space.
For example, you should expect an investigator to show up outside your home, speak to your neighbors, and look at your social media posts.
Is Insurance Surveillance Even Legal?
Investigators will show up and take photos and videos of you living daily life, and, yes, it is legal.
It is not illegal for insurance companies to hire private investigators to perform insurance surveillance on claimants.
But they are only legally allowed to “investigate” what you do in public (such as outside in your driveway or front yard, or dining in public).
They are allowed to park outside your home and take photos, or even follow you to public places, such as church or Walmart.
Keep in mind that many private investigators have specialized equipment that allows them to document activity from a far distance, and some can even capture images inside your home if the window blinds are open.
What Insurance Surveillance Is Hoping to Find
The company InQuest encourages companies to hire their private investigators because “fraud is just one of the major problems companies face on a regular basis.”
They claim, “it’s estimated that 18 percent of all insurance claims indicated some level of fraud.”
In other words, insurance surveillance investigators try to spin it as if they are only out to catch the bad guys – the people who are seriously attempting to commit insurance fraud.
That’s not the real story.
Again, insurance companies put profit over people.
Paying out workers’ compensation benefits costs them, and employees not working full-time prevent employers from meeting their goals.
To avoid having to pay out as much or allow employees to miss work, they put these injured employees under insurance surveillance.
They want the investigator to discover you doing something that proves you aren’t as hurt as you claim or incapable of working.
If your doctor has put you on light-duty work, they are hoping to catch you doing something that will allow you to qualify for full-duty work.
For example, they want to catch you doing something that contradicts your doctor’s orders, such as helping a friend move when you are under lift restrictions because of a back injury.
[Related Read: What Georgia Workers’ Comp Benefits Am I Entitled To?]
How to Protect Yourself against Insurance Surveillance
You may be wondering what you are supposed to do knowing you are under insurance surveillance.
Follow these simple rules.
- Be honest. Tell the doctor the truth about how you feel, and do not exaggerate.
- Obey the doctor. Don’t push it. If the doctor puts you on bedrest, stay in bed.
- Don’t be a hypocrite. Don’t say you are injured and then go out in public and act as if you are fine. This makes you look like a liar.
- Watch what you post. Insurance surveillance includes investigating your social media posts. Do not post anything that suggests you are lying about your injuries. This even includes sharing old photos. Unless the photo has a time stamp, the investigator can claim you went on that boat ride after you received doctor’s orders.
- Work with a workers’ compensation attorney. Workers’ compensation attorneys are very familiar with these tactics and can provide advice on how to protect yourself better and defend you should you need it.
Watch How To Deal With Private Investigators to Learn More
Stay Aware But Don’t Panic
I get it. Hearing you are likely under insurance surveillance feels icky.
Don’t panic.
The long and short of it is, just be yourself. If you have suffered a work injury and are following doctor’s orders, you don’t need to obsess over the investigator you’ve noticed trailing you.
Just know he is there and make wise decisions.
Unfortunately, even short moments can be captured on film and taken out of context.
When you are in public, assume you are being watched. Act accordingly.
Ask your spouse to bring the groceries in, even if it’s just a bag of bread.
Hire a Workers’ Compensation Attorney to Defend You
Workers’ compensation attorneys know all about insurance surveillance, and the lengths investigators will go to. If you are concerned about insurance surveillance, speak with an attorney.
They can get the whole story, such as you only carried the light groceries, and use your truths to defend you against the investigator’s false claims.
Plus, once insurance companies realize you are working with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney, they will be more likely to pull back on surveillance.
In addition to helping defend you against insurance surveillance lies, a workers’ compensation attorney will fight to ensure you receive the workers’ compensation benefits you truly deserve.
If you’ve been injured on the job, contact us today for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.
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