Are You Being Followed?
It is often mentioned that an insurance company will hire an investigator to follow an injured person around and take photographs and videos of him or her in order to attempt to destroy their case or hurt the value of their case. Most people will assume this applies to persons who are not truly injured but have something to worry about. However, the ultimate goal of hiring the investigator is to destroy your case whether you are injured or not.
One article pointed out that in most situations the insurance company will not hire anyone to follow you and take photographs of you, however, it is still a possibility and something each injured plaintiff must be aware of. The main reason any insurance company would hire an investigator to follow around a plaintiff is to protect their bottom line, and not necessarily to protect themselves from fraudulent claims. It is possible that even if you are legitimately injured the insurance company will still send an investigator to follow you so as to devalue your case.
This basically works in the sense that, for example, if you claim to have injured your lower back in a car accident, the investigator will seek to record you performing activities that appear as though your lower back is not injured. The investigator may, for example, record you exercising in the gym or in the grocery store picking up heavy items from the bottom shelf. It must be noted that even though you may be doing such activities in pain, the insurance company will focus on the fact that you are performing these activities and therefore, do not have a legitimate claim.
The only way to truly be safe, regardless of whether or not an investigator is asked to follow you around is to follow your doctor’s orders exactly. If the doctor advised you to refrain from performing activities that will strain or worsen your injuries do exactly that. In the event that an investigator is sent to follow you around, do not panic about it, but rather contact your vehicle injury lawyers and let them know immediately. Do not act hostile to the investigator and not try to demonstrate to the investigator that you are injured. If possible ignore them at all costs and allow them to carry out their duties. It is important to note that there is no law stating that you cannot be followed around by an investigator, therefore, allow them to carry out their duties unhindered.
Most attorneys agree that the odds of an insurance company hiring an investigator for most claims are very low and as a result most claimants do not run the risk of this happening to them.
To ensure that your rights are protected, as well as for legal representation and advice, it is important to contact vehicle injury lawyers who have the legal expertise and experience to handle personal injury matters and to deal with insurance companies. An expert personal injury lawyer will have years of experience as well as a track record of successful claims to his or her name.
