The Rights of Workers Compensation Insurance Companies

If you’ve had an accident at work that’s led to an injury, you’ll want to file a workers compensation claim to get all costs relating to the injury covered. This includes medical visits, tests, exams and appointments, wages that you can no longer work for, other forms of care and even funeral costs. Since a serious injury can leave long-lasting effects on your finances, it’s important to file a claim to ensure you don’t go into debt because of it.

However, when you file a claim, the insurance company may start asking questions and investigating. Here’s what they can legally do, and what you may be able to do to counter it.

The Insurance Business

Despite what they are designed to do for their customers, insurance companies are more interested in making money than paying for your losses. If your case involves a significant amount of money, they may try to avoid paying the full amount you are owed. They do this through investigations that can prove you weren’t really injured through a work-related accident or that you can still work. While this may be completely unfounded, they still have the right to investigate you.

Surveillance 

An insurance company may send an investigator to follow you and even take pictures of you. They can legally do this outside of your home and on your way to doctor’s appointments. Anything that is considered public is fair game, including your social media accounts, so be careful about what you post. An investigator may go so far as to speak to your neighbors, run a background check, and get their evidence of your actions analyzed by a medical professional.

Negative Impacts

The goal of the investigator is to find evidence that you are not as injured as you claim. Any of the pictures or videos they take can be used as proof in court to show that you were completing actions you claimed you couldn’t because of your injury. This can be detrimental to your claim, as it could lessen the amount of compensation you receive.

Preventative Measures

While it may be legal to take pictures of you in public, an investigator cannot trespass by taking pictures of your home through a window. If you realize you are being watched illegally, you can contact the police. You can also contact a work-related injury lawyer, like an attorney from Polsky, Shouldice & Rosen, P.C.  to verify your rights and get advice on how to handle an investigator to ensure you get your rightful compensation.