Could You Be Watched By A Private Investigator?

Sometimes an insurance company hires a private investigator to watch the activities of someone that has filed a personal injury claim.

What could push an insurance company to make such a move?

The submitted injury claims are significant.

—Those claims could be large, due to the injury’s severe nature.
—Those claims could concern a rare injury or a rare disorder.
The insurer might suspect fraud on the part of the claimant.

The investigator’s goals

Learn whether or not the claimant’s actions match with his/her claims. That would be the goal in cases where the claimant’s report had indicated the existence of a severe injury, as the result of an accident.

Injury Lawyer in Brantford will seek to ascertain how a rare injury or disorder might put a limitation on the claimant’s actions. That would be the goal in any case where the insurance company had only limited information on the reported injury.

All private investigators must respect the rights of the person that has become the target of the investigator’s eyes.

No investigation can include the installation of a wiretap.None of a company’s private investigators have the right to take photographs of any indoor scene, one that has been witnessed through a building’s window.

No investigator has the right to trespass on any private property. None of a company’s investigators are allowed to impersonate a police officer or some other individual, in an attempt to get close to the person-of-interest.

No investigation should include an examination of printed information on the person-of-interest, unless that same individual has consented to such an examination.

—Facts posted on the Internet would be available to all; hence, an insurance company could ask certain adjusters to study the posted information on various social media networks.
—The law does not put a time limit on the length of an investigation. If an insurer hoped to gain information on a rare injury or a rare disorder, the investigators’ job might continue for up to 6 months, or possibly longer.
—All claimants must refrain from overlooking the requirement for permission from the person being watched by the investigative team, if that same team were to plan on examining written information. That is why no injured accident victim should go along with an adjuster’s request for permission to look at all of the same victim’s medical records.

Some of the regulations serve to back up the rule against trespassing.

There is significance to the fact that details on the investigators’ dress have been stated clearly. Those details forbid the donning of any costume that might resemble the dress or uniform used by someone else, such as a police officer. That should prevent performance of unlawful searches and seizures.