Under the Looking Glass

You have been involved in an accident as a result of which you have suffered personal injuries. That might be as a result of a motor vehicle accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice or any other incident in which you have suffered personal injuries.

What you must remember is that you are now part of an adversarial process. As a potential Plaintiff, you will be seeking compensation for your injuries. In seeking compensation, you will be making allegations to support your claim for general damages, past and future loss of income, loss of housekeeping and possibly, future care.

You will be seeking that compensation from an "Insurance Company". That Insurance Company is your adversary in this process. As part of their ongoing investigation of your claim, they have a right to put you under surveillance. They do not have to notify you that they are doing that. In order to do so, they will normally hire Private Investigators who will follow you and take video footage of you as you engage in your day to day activities.

The sole purpose of the surveillance is to attempt to find anything that will contradict your claim for compensation. If you say, for instance, that you have been unable to hang clothes on your clothesline and they have video which shows you doing that, then it will be used to contradict and weaken your claim.

The only obligation of the insurer is to let you know, after the fact, that they have conducted surveillance. They are not obliged to provide you with the surveillance tapes unless they wish to rely upon them at Trial. They will however, provide you with a summary of when and what was obtained during the surveillance.

It is important that you be aware that this may occur during your case.

You should not tailor your activities to that possibility; however, be aware that you are under the looking glass in this adversarial process.