Insurance companies don’t usually follow or spy on claimants. But, if they face the risk of paying out a large settlement to someone injured, it is a tactic that they will utilize to gather evidence against the person and cast doubt on the legitimacy of their claim.
If you have been injured and have already filed a claim against the insurance company, then here’s what you need to know about protecting your rights against potential investigators.
Common Tactics Used to Spy on You
While insurance companies or the private investigators they hire cannot engage in any illegal practices, they can and regularly do use legal tactics to spy on claimants. Some of these common surveillance tactics may include:
- Following You. They may follow you to your home, the store, or your doctor’s appointments and speak with your neighbors, doctors, colleagues, or friends.
- Pictures and Videos. They may try to take photos and videos of you performing regular activities to find inconsistencies between your claim and how it is actually affecting your life.
- Social Media. With a quick internet search, investigators can easily find your social media profiles and may attempt to look at photos, status updates, or things you are tagged in to find evidence against you.
- Medical Records. If you give the insurance company access to your entire medical history, they may try to search through your past medical records and find details of past injuries to defend their own case.
What insurance companies or investigators cannot do is engage in any illegal practices that would violate your rights to privacy. For instance, it is illegal for them to:
- Harass or threaten you
- Record you in your home or on your property
- Enter your property without permission
- Tap your phone lines
- Hack into your online accounts
- Open your mail
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How to Protect Your Rights After an Accident
If you tell the truth about your injury claim, then it may not matter what one photo or video shows. For instance, don’t say that you are unable to get out of bed because of your back injuries. This way, if you are photographed out shopping or working out, the surveillance against you won’t matter.
We know that dealing with insurance companies is often a tricky situation to navigate, especially if they are trying to deny or devalue your claim. At Fowler Helsel Vogt, our Fresno injury attorneys are dedicated to helping those injured obtain maximum compensation for what they have been through. You can rest easy knowing our team has your back through it all.
“Start with a real conversation. We’ll take this on with you.”
- We handle the paperwork & phone calls
- We explain everything in plain language
- We move things forward while you recover
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