Can the Insurance Company Spy on Me?

At the Law Offices of Marc Francis, we commonly hear this question from injured workers. The short answer is that it depends on each specific situation. Sometimes an investigator can take videos of your activities and sometimes they cannot.

Generally speaking, an insurance investigator can take videos of you in public places or in private places where they have a legal right to be. Public places often include grocery stores, gas stations, or parking lots. Investigators often follow injured workers as they travel to doctor appointments and record them walking from their car into the office.

An investigator may not legally enter your home or other private place without permission, and they may not restrict or interfere with your movements anywhere, public or private. Investigators have had their state licenses revoked for violations of these rules, and such violations should be reported.

Some outrageous examples of investigator misconduct over the years include:

• Following the injured worker’s vehicle to a parking lot and positioning the investigator’s own vehicle so that it blocks access to the driver’s door, requiring the injured worker to twist their body into awkwardpositions that exceed the doctor’s restrictions or limitations for the work injury.
• Letting the air out of a tire on the injured worker’s car, in hopes they can be filmed changing the tire—a physically demanding task for many people, especially those with work injuries.
• Calling the injured worker and falsely saying that an emergency has occurred with a child or other loved one, in hopes the workers will run out of their house and jump into the car contrary to their doctor’s advice, with the camera running.
• Blocking the entrance to an elevator by dumping a garbage can onto the floor, requiring an injured worker with a knee injury to use the stairs, contrary to their work restrictions.

If you believe you are the victim of an unscrupulous insurance investigator you should contact Marc Francis, a Santa Rosa workers comp attorney, who is dedicated to helping injured workers. For a free consultation call our office at (707) 664-9675.