Workers Compensation insurance companies can, and do, spend a lot of money on private investigators following injured employees around and videotaping them.
Then, the private investigator will provide the insurance company with confidential reports which are not automatically produced to the injured employee (nor are the videotapes) because the insurance company wants to blind side the injured employee with the report and videotapes at a hearing and use the report and videotapes to influence its doctors. If the injured employee doesn’t know about the surveillance, reports and videotapes, there is nothing s/he can do.
In a recent case before the Juneau board, Cornielson v Rappe Excavating, the insurance company’s attorney introduced the report and edited video. The Board demanded to see the entire video, unedited, and when it saw the entire video, unedited, the Board came down hard on the insurance company.
In the first place, the private investigator’s report didn’t match the unedited videotape and in the second place, the video was edited to cut out all of the scenes showing the injured worker was in real pain, not knowing that he was being videotaped.
Word to the wise: if you’re in a Workers Compensation case and you think you’re being followed, you are. Even if you don’t think you’re being followed, you may be. You need to demand all surveillance videos and reports.
Keenan Powell has practiced Workers Compensation law in the State of Alaska for nearly 30 years and has dedicated her practice to Workers Compensation representing injured Alaskans for the past 9 years handling hundreds of cases. A sample of verdicts she has obtained for Employees is found at http://www.keenanpowell.com/settlements_wc.html.
There is absolutely no fee for a consultation, all consultations are free. If you want to set up a meeting, use the contact form on this website or call: 907 258 7663.