You’ve had a work injury; you’re home recovering from the accident, and unable to work. You get the feeling that someone’s watching you. It may not be your imagination–you may be under video surveillance by your employer’s insurance company.
While it may seem unsetting, it is legal, and fairly common. Unfortunately it happens that people fake injuries, or exaggerate their pain or limitations. Insurance companies, to protect themselves particularly where a big payout is expected, will hire private detectives to follow you or watch you and videotape your movements. They want to have proof if you are one of those dishonest people trying to cheat the system.
Sometimes though, honest people are caught on video surveillance doing things that look bad, but really are not. For example, a worker may push himself to shovel snow when he thinks it is necessary, even though he has a back injury restricting all bending and lifting. He may be in horrible pain doing it, and may have possibly injured himself worse. But on the video it could appear as though he was not telling the truth about the extent of his injury.
We’ve had this happen to a bunch of clients. Most of them tell us that they were feeling well on that particular day and wanted to see if they could push their body further in hopes of getting back to work. That’s what people with a good work ethic do.
In some cases treating physicians have changed their opinions about their patient’s injuries based on seeing the video of the patient doing things like mowing the lawn, running, and other activities that they should not be able to do if they were in as much pain as they described during the medical exam. Particularly in cases where much of the evidence of your injury comes from what you report to the doctor about your pain, and can’t measured or seen on tests, the surveillance can sway the doctor’s testimony.
Though you can attempt to explain what is on the surveillance video, you don’t want to put yourself in that position. It is better to just listen to your doctor, and follow the restrictions that you have been given. It is better for your case and importantly it is better for your health and recovery.
But you don’t have to worry too much about being followed and taped, especially if you are following doctor’s orders and being honest. You can just go about your business, and what shows up on tape will most likely be fine. Being disabled from work doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything. It just means that you shouldn’t be unreasonable in what you are doing. And while there is no limit on how much surveillance a company can perform, it is really expensive. If they watch you for five days and see nothing, they will probably stop following you.
We are workers’ compensation attorneys who help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.
