Yes (!) Many insurance companies have their own in-house investigation teams or will hire private firms specializing in surveillance work. If you’ve ever seen a private eye at work in the movies you have a good idea of what happens. Picture a couple of people sitting in a non-descript car across the street from your house, eating donuts and drinking coffee, and waiting for you to come out and start your day. They have a small video camera that starts rolling when they see you – or someone they think might be you. A couple of years ago, in the course of discovery, I had an insurance company provide film on one of my clients. I invited the client in to view the film. It was taken at a job site. My client laughed out loud when he saw the person on the monitor and said, “That’s not me! I know that guy – I went to high school with him!”

While initially pretty amusing, this is just one of the potential problems with surveillance film. Envision that film being sent to a medical legal evaluator for his or her review and comment. Now we have an evaluator commenting on what an injured worker can or can’t do based on film that isn’t even the injured worker. It happens more often than you’d think. That said, there are also very specific laws as to when surveillance film can or cannot be sent to a medical legal evaluator. If you have any questions on surveillance film or workers’ compensation in general, give me a call. I’d be happy to answer your questions.

Sacramento Workers’ Comp. Attorney Alice Strömbom serves clients across Northern California. If you or someone you know has experienced a work injury, contact an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer at Bowman & Associates today for your free initial consultation; (916) 923-2800.

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