Who Is Spying on Me? Tips About Sub-Rosa Surveillance

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Workers’ Compensation insurance companies engage in various practices to reduce their indemnity to injured workers. One of their tactics is to try to catch the injured worker in the act of doing something that they supposedly should not be doing with the injury they claim to have suffered on the job. A classic example: Joe the plumber is receiving temporary disability payments and medical treatment, as well as taking time off work, because he has two herniated disks in his lumbar spine. Pretty common injury. Two months after the injury, the insurance company suspects Joe might not be as hurt as he claims; i.e. they suspect Joe is committing insurance fraud.

The insurance company can hire a private investigator (P.I.) to snoop on Joe while he is at home, the grocery store, driving his car, or anywhere else a telephoto lens or a video recorder with a strong zoom will reach. The footage captured on film is called “Sub-Rosa”, which is Latin for “under the rose.” The rose has historically signified secrecy and privacy (do a quick Google search and you’ll find plenty of historical vignettes). Nowadays, the term “Sub-Rosa” has been applied to the work of spies and snoops, particularly P.I.’s who are seeking evidence of insurance fraud.

The P.I. can even interview Joe’s neighbors, take statements from his friends, and otherwise invade in Joe’s privacy. About the only thing the P.I. cannot do is speak to Joe directly if he is represented by an attorney.

This post is intended to warn injured workers with pending claims about the “etiquette”, for lack of a better term, with respect to Sub-Rosa surveillance.

Do Not Be Alarmed

The following link will direct you to an article by a P.I. company offering advice to the insurance companies:

http://www.insurance … ontent&do_pdf=1&id=5

In the article, the author says: “Investigations are critical to evaluating the validity of a worker’s compensation claim. Videotape, photograph, or eyewitness testimony provides valuable evidence to support or impeach a claimant’s testimony.”

Do not be alarmed if you receive a notice that your trip to the Citrus Heights Safeway or the South Sacramento/ Elk Grove Costco was videotaped. If you are represented, the insurance company must send the P.I.’s footage/photos/report to your attorney. It must meet certain evidentiary requirements if it will be admissible against you. The judge determines whether to allow the evidence.

“I’m Not Dead!”

From the same article mentioned above: “…[I]nvestigators typically spend 8-10 hours a day on a given Sub Rosa investigation. Investigators arrive early in the morning to determine if the claimant appears to be working at home or employed by a third party. If the claimant is inactive for an extended period of time, surveillance may be discontinued until the afternoon or another day. However, if the claimant is active, the investigator remains in observance until activity ceases or darkness prohibits further documentation.”

You may get the sense that Big Brother is watching you. Usually, however, if the P.I. is doing his/her job correctly, you will not realize you are under surveillance. After you receive the footage and have the opportunity to review it, you will likely be furious that they have invaded your privacy in this way. The footage will probably show you getting into and out of your car, carrying grocery bags, or doing other normal daily activities.

Some clients ask if this footage will hurt their cases. The answer is usually no. Judges recognize that you are not dead; you have to go on living your life as normally as possible. Even after a fairly significant injury, you still can probably do many normal daily activities, though with great pain or discomfort. However, it may hurt you if your skydiving or water skiing adventure was recorded.

Remember This

Employers are well equipped with information and funds to try to deprive injured workers of benefits. For example, see this article giving tips on how to discredit the injured worker’s claim:

http://www.2mypi.com … %20Investigation.pdf

Remember that the workers’ compensation system is a no-fault system. This means that if you were injured on the job, your injury is presumed to be covered by the employer’s insurance unless and until the employer proves otherwise. Sub-Rosa surveillance is a tool they use to prove you are not hurt as you claim.

If you need advice, please contact a competent workers’ compensation attorney.

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