SURVEILLANCE
by Alex Carpio, Partner at Snow, Carpio & Weekley, PLC
“It is illegal for the insurance company to videotape me!!”
This is a statement my clients often tell me each time I get hired as their
attorney. This statement is false. The insurance carriers can and
will hire an investigator to videotape you. The purpose of surveillance
is for insurance carriers to catch injured workers doing physical activities
outside their recommended work restrictions given by their doctor. Once
the insurance carrier has videotaped surveillance of an injured worker doing
physical activity outside their work restrictions the video must be disclosed
to the injured worker or their attorney if they are represented. The
insurance carrier’s attorney will also submit the surveillance video into
evidence to be used at any hearings. Once doctors review the
surveillance, most likely they will change their opinions regarding work
restrictions and even medical treatment. This of course could be
detrimental to your case. Remember that the insurance company would
rather spend a few hundred or thousand dollars on an investigator to save them
a lot more money in the long run when it comes to paying an injured workers
indemnity benefits and medical treatment. Surveillance can be a powerful
weapon for insurance carriers. The bottom line an injured worker should
know their physician’s work restrictions and never do anything above and beyond
those work restrictions because when you least expect it there will be
surveillance.
Attorney X. Alex Carpio is a Partner at Snow, Carpio & Weekley, PLC. For a free consultation, please call our Phoenix office at 602-532-0700 or our Tucson office at 520-647-9000. For outlining areas, please call 855-325-4781 and speak with April to set up a telephonic consultation. For more information about Snow, Carpio & Weekley, please visit our website at www.workinjuryaz.com
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