Can the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Company Follow Me, Take Photos, and Talk to My Neighbors?
Workers’ compensation insurance companies cover the benefits employees should get from their workers’ comp claims. However, the insurance carrier wants to ensure you deserve the compensation and are not faking injuries.
Most insurance companies also don’t want to pay benefits to protect their business interests. Thus, they may use different tactics to damage your workers’ compensation claims, like conducting background checks and keeping you under close surveillance.
So, read on to know how to protect your claim throughout an insurance company’s surveillance process.
How Insurance Companies Investigate Using Surveillance
It’s legal for a workers’ comp insurance company to follow you and collect evidence that may affect your claim. They may hire private investigators and use particular methods for the process.
Some of the methods they may legally use are:
- Following you everywhere you go
- Getting a copy of camera footage during the injury-causing accident
- Taking photos or videos of you
- Checking your social media accounts
- Interviewing your family, friends, neighbors, and co-employees for background checks
However, insurance companies are careful to avoid illegal steps that can result in lawsuits, like:
- Hacking your social media accounts
- Trespassing into your property
- Installing tracking devices on your car
- Pretending to be a police officer
You may file a case against an insurance company if they engage in any of these illegal activities while investigating your claim. Call a workers’ compensation attorney in Glendale to know the best legal option to make in that situation.
Protecting Your Workers’ Comp Claim from Insurance Company Surveillance
Insurance providers use surveillance methods to prove you deserve compensation before approving your claim. However, they may also use it in clever ways to damage your case without doing anything illegal.
For example, you walked for a while in your backyard and sat down to rest your injured leg. An insurance adjuster from a distance may take pictures of you while walking. They will then use it to prove your injury doesn’t significantly affect you, which in turn can damage your claim.
So, remember these points to protect your case from clever surveillance tactics that insurance providers can legally do:
1. Observe Reasonable Privacy
Insurance company investigators can take pictures of you in public places and use them for their purpose. However, they may also stand on public property and take photos of you in your house if your curtains are open.
So, observe reasonable privacy by keeping your curtains closed.
2. Control Your Social Media Privacy
Keep your social media accounts private to stop insurance adjusters from collecting evidence against you. You should also avoid posting videos and photos that prove you are in good condition.
3. Verify the Investigator’s Identity
Confirm that an authorized agent is following you and not a random stranger who can cause you harm.
Contact the insurance company and ask if they have sent somebody to follow you. You may also ask your lawyer to call the insurance company on your behalf.
4. Get copies of the Insurance Provider’s Surveillance Details About You
Lastly, your attorney should secure copies of videos, photos, and notes about you from the insurance company. This move can stop the insurance carrier from editing the media files to damage your case.
Moreover, your legal counsel may study the information the insurance company has gathered to support your claim.
Call a Glendale Workers’ Compensation Lawyer to Protect Your Claim
It’s legal for insurance providers to use particular investigation methods to verify compensation claims. However, they may also use clever tactics to damage your case.
So, hire a workers’ compensation attorney in Glendale to protect your claim.