personal injury surveillance investigator foyle legal best lawyers perth

If you have made a personal injury claim, the insurance company may surveil you. Here’s what you need to know about personal injury surveillance, and what to do to protect your privacy against insurance surveillance!

When do Insurance Company Hire Private Investigators?

Your insurance company may hire private investigators for factual investigation and the detection of insurance fraud. For example, if you have a workers compensation claim, the insurance company conduct surveillance on the injured workers if there is a suspected workers compensation fraud, or would like to use adverse surveillance evidence to improve their workers compensation case against the injured worker. When it is done properly, this is completely legal.

Personal injury video evidence is common. If you have an ongoing personal injury claim, insurance companies or Workcover claims insurers may hire private investigators to gather surveillance evidence on you at any time of your claim. In practice, insurance claim investigators are often hired when your action or behaviour pattern is inconsistent with what is stated in the medical reports by your doctor, or when your claim is rather substantial.

If you are working with a personal injury lawyer for a compensation claim, you should seek insurance investigations claims advice from your lawyer as soon as your claim is lodged.

What do Insurance Investigators Look For?

Insurance investigators often take personal injury video evidence or photographic evidence. They typically look for evidence that will discredit you or your claim.

For example, if your AMS doctor said you need to continue to receive medical treatment for your back injury, but the workers comp investigators obtained evidence that you are carrying 3 cases of beers with ease. Then, your insurance company may use the evidence to cut off or reduce the payment for medical treatment expenses. So, it is important to know the workcover surveillance tricks.

Whether you have a car accident injury claim or a workers compensation claimsurveillance is legal. So seek insurance investigations claims advice from your compensation lawyer, and avoid being discredited with surveillance evidence during your personal injury claim.

Surveillance Evidence – Things to Know

Knowledge is a claimant’s best defence. Assume that a private investigator will be hired by workers compensation insurers or your employer. This is being done all over the country as well as here in Perth. To avoid damaging personal injury video surveillance evidence, here are the things you should work on.

  • Know what a private investigator can legally do and what they can’t.
  • Know what the common workers comp surveillance tactics are.
  • Know how to avoid accidentally giving damaging surveillance evidence.
  • Hire the best personal injury lawyers or workers compensation lawyers in Perth.

If you have suspected you have been followed around by a surveillance operator. Contact Foyle Legal for obligation-free practical legal advice on how to combat insurance surveillance.

Surveillance Evidence in a Personal Injury Claim – Your Rights

Private investigators don’t have carte blanche when it comes to gathering evidence. Knowing your rights allows you and your lawyer to combat any unethical surveillance evidence. Investigators’ limits are dictated by the Surveillance Devices Act 2007. However, this still allows them a lot of opportunities to take video surveillance.

Workcover claims and other personal injury claims can’t be investigated by:

  • Taking video surveillance of you doing private activities inside your home
  • Planting bugs to record conversations
  • Entering your home, car, or other private properties without consent
  • Conducting surveillance inside your home, car, or any other private property without consent
  • Harassing you. If they do you have the right to file a Misconduct Restraining Order against them.
  • Recording you on your private properties as long as the picture is taken from a public place
  • Recording conversations in public places
  • Taking video surveillance of you at any public place
  • Taking video surveillance at any time of day
  • Following you for extended periods of time

8 Tips to Avoid Damaging Surveillance Evidence

Workcover insurance claims as well as other personal injury claims have benchmark patterns they usually follow. Knowing these WorkCover surveillance tricks makes it possible for you to understand and avoid damaging surveillance evidence.

Doctors’ appointments

If the dates and times of your appointments are known, it is easy for a PI to track you there. Often PI’s will use these appointments to confirm your identity and other facts to make tracking you easier. This gives PI’s pertinent facts about you that will make further surveillance easier as well.

Typical Timing

Though Workcover claims can have surveillance at any time, there are times it is more likely. Generally, if an injured person has been unfit for work for more than one year it is more likely they will be the subject of surveillance. If you are applying for a personal injury certificate, you should be especially careful. None of this means that video surveillance can’t happen at other times. But there are times you should be particularly careful.

Surveillance often occurs over a period

Don’t assume that you will only be under video surveillance for a given time period. Usually, surveillance lasts 2-3 days but it can last for months. It is common for insurers to pay for more than one session of surveillance. Assume you are being watched from the moment you file the claim until you go to court. This is probably not the case, but it is a safe way to proceed.

A Private Investigator may follow you around the clock 

There are no set hours for private investigators or days off. Don’t assume you are safe from video surveillance at night or on the weekends. It may be stressful to be on the lookout round-the-clock but it’s better than losing your personal injury claim.

Private investigators may conduct surveillance on social media accounts

Surveillance evidence for your personal injury claim may be gathered through those you know. This means people like your friends, co-workers, and neighbours. They will also use your social media posts and the social media posts of those you know against you. Not only do you need to be careful of what you say and post, but those you know should also be aware of online surveillance. Tell your friends and family about your claim and give them an idea of what statements/posts are damaging.

Follow your doctors’ instructions

If your doctor tells you to do something, do it or at least seek a second opinion with haste. If your doctor tells you not to do something don’t do it, or seek a second opinion as soon as possible. You can’t be caught on video surveillance in a damaging way if you aren’t doing anything to damage your claim. So follow your doctor’s advice and restrictions to the letter.

Watch out for cash incomes 

You may think nothing of doing a little side job. But any cash income you receive can be considered fraud if you are making representations that you are not fit to work. Make sure the only income you are receiving is from your weekly payments in a workers compensation claim. Even working odd jobs for a few dollars could be used against you.

Private investigators are experts in disguise

Just because you don’t see a private investigator, doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Again, this is an issue of better safe than sorry. If you assume there is always someone watching, you can’t give damaging evidence. If you don’t talk to anyone about your claim, you can’t give damaging evidence. A PI does not need to announce that is what they are.

Insurance Investigations Claims Advice from Your Lawyer!

Hiring a Perth based lawyer for your personal injury claim is the best thing you can do to combat surveillance evidence. An experienced compensation lawyer should know the ins and outs of surveillance evidence in personal injury claims, together with other evidence that may be damaging to your workers compensation claim.

If you are working with Foyle Legal with your workcover claim or car accident injury claim, we provide in detail insurance investigation claims advice to our clients.

We will go over the consequences of video surveillance in detail. We also explain to our clients in detail what a private investigator is legally allowed to do. For the best outcome, we suggest injured people contact Foyle Legal as soon as the ICWA claim or workcover claim is submitted to the insurance company. So that we can start strategizing to combat surveillance evidence in your personal injury claim.

Combatting & Preventing Surveillance Evidence

The first step in fighting this type of surveillance is knowing that it is likely to happen. This leaves the claimant able to avoid damaging information coming out. Then knowing the basics of what is legally allowed in video surveillance helps. After that it gets more complicated and hiring a personal injury lawyer is the best thing a claimant can do.

If you are concerned about your personal injury claim, contact Foyle Legal for your no-obligation consultation. We will listen to your concerns, and provide you with a personalised action plan for your injury claim. For all qualified personal injury clients, we represent your injury claim on a No Win, No Fee basis.

Christian Foyle best injury compensation lawyers Perth for workers comp and personal injury claims
MEET THE AUTHOR

Christian Foyle, founder and director of Foyle Legal - one of the top-rated personal injury law firms in Perth, Western Australia. Christian has been named one of the best compensation lawyers, leading workers' lawyers, and recommended public liability lawyers in WA. Born and raised in Western Australia, his mission is to bring social justice to those injured in accidents that are not their fault. Christian helps injured people seek fair compensation with a No Win, No Fee solution. Follow him on TikTok and LinkedIn.

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