Insurance Company Surveillance: How It Can Hurt Your Fort Lauderdale Workers’ Compensation Claim
You are injured on the job in Fort Lauderdale, file a workers’ compensation claim, follow your doctor’s orders, and are doing your best to get through a painful recovery. What you may not realize is that someone could be watching.
Insurance companies routinely rely on surveillance, and what they capture can be used directly against you. Our experienced Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation lawyer explains how it works, what it can do to your claim, and ways to protect yourself.
How Insurance Companies Use Surveillance Against Injured Workers
When on-the-job injuries happen, workers’ compensation benefits can help cover your losses. However, under the Florida Statutes, insurers have broad latitude to investigate claims they suspect involve exaggeration or fraud.
That investigation often includes surveillance. Here’s how it often shows up in a Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation case:
- A private investigator follows you in public and films you performing physical activities, such as carrying groceries, mowing your lawn, or getting in and out of a car.
- Social media posts, photos, or videos you or your friends share online are collected and used to contradict your reported limitations.
- Investigators show up at physical therapy appointments, your home, or anywhere you regularly spend time to capture footage that seems inconsistent with your injury.
- Footage from a single activity performed on a good day is presented out of context as evidence that your limitations are exaggerated across all days.
The problem is not that you are doing something wrong. The problem is that a few seconds of footage, taken out of context and presented strategically, can create doubt about your entire claim.
How to Protect Your Fort Lauderdale Workers’ Comp Case From Surveillance
Insurers have a financial incentive to find reasons to reduce or eliminate your benefits. Surveillance gives them a way to build a case against you.
Knowing that surveillance is possible, take these precautions to protect your Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation case:
- Follow all work and activity restrictions your doctor puts in place.
- Keep in mind that on good days, engaging in more strenuous activities could be used against you.
- Set your social media settings to private, restrict friends from tagging you in photos, and avoid posting about your claim, your injuries, or your daily activities.
- Get legal help immediately if you suspect you’re being monitored or followed.
If the insurer tries to use surveillance footage to challenge your Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation claim, we can challenge it based on the quality, context, duration, or the circumstances under which it occurred.
Worried About Surveillance? Contact an Experienced Fort Lauderdale Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
It’s standard practice for insurance companies to use surveillance for workers’ compensation claims. Our Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation lawyer has the legal knowledge and experience to handle these companies. We challenge surveillance footage and other evidence insurers try to use against you and fight for the maximum benefits you deserve.
To protect your rights, contact the Law Offices of David M. Benenfeld, P.A. Request a consultation in our Sunrise, Fort Lauderdale, or West Palm Beach office today.
Sources:
myfloridacfo.com/division/wc/employee/frequently-asked-questions
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0440/Sections/0440.13.html