Can the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Company Spy On Me?
Possibly. The more suspicious the employer is regarding your worker’s compensation claim, or concerning the extent of your disability, the more likely it is for them to contract a vendor to take video pictures of you.
Insurance Company Surveillance Tactics
This practice (also known as sub rosa) is specifically allowed by law and the film is admissible as evidence in a worker’s compensation hearing. In cases where the individual goes beyond merely exaggerating his/her disability – especially where the film shows he or she has offered perjured testimony (such as “I can’t walk” versus film showing the person walking), video film can be the basis of a fraud investigation by the District Attorney’s office, which can lead to jail time and monetary penalties. Sometimes videotaping an individual can backfire on the employer when the film shows that the individual really is as disabled as he/she made themselves out to be. Under case law, the employer is required to turn over videotaped evidence, whatever its content, upon demand. With that said, video surveillance is usually performed in highly suspect cases only and generally not on the average, relatively run-of-the-mill claim.
*The above article was published in the September 2012 edition of The Magazine of Santa Clarita ~ www.santaclaritamagazine.com. All rights reserved.
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