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Many injured workers in California are shocked to learn that filing a workers’ compensation claim can quietly place them under surveillance. What begins as a request for medical care and wage replacement often elicits a markedly different response from insurers and employers. Investigators may begin observing, filming, and monitoring workers to identify information that could be used to reduce or deny benefits.
At Hanning & Sacchetto, our Whittier workers’ compensation attorneys regularly see how surveillance is used not to protect the system from fraud, but to pressure legitimately injured employees into abandoning their claims.
What Workplace Surveillance Looks Like
Surveillance does not always involve someone sitting in a parked car with a camera, although that still occurs. Modern claim surveillance is far more sophisticated and far more invasive.
After a workers’ compensation claim is filed, insurers may use:
- Private investigators are to follow workers in public.
- Video and photo recording outside homes, stores, and medical offices.
- Monitoring of social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
- Online searches of posts, photos, and tagged locations.
- Reviews of job searches, hobbies, and recreational activities.
The goal is to identify any image or activity that could be construed as inconsistent with the worker’s injury.
Why Insurance Companies Use Surveillance
Workers’ compensation insurers have one primary objective: reducing claim costs. Surveillance is used to cast doubt on the severity of an injury or the worker’s honesty.
If a worker is seen:
- Carrying groceries.
- Walking without visible pain.
- Attending a family gathering.
- Sitting at a restaurant.
- Driving a car.
The insurer may argue that the injury is exaggerated, even when physicians have documented significant functional limitations. These images are often taken out of context and used to justify denial, termination of benefits, or reduced settlement offers.
Social Media Has Become a Surveillance Tool
Many workers are unaware that their social media activity is being monitored. Even private accounts can be accessed through tagged photos, public comments, or mutual connections.
Insurance investigators look for:
- Photos that show physical activity.
- Travel pictures.
- Smiling or socializing.
- Posts that suggest work or side jobs.
- Comments about feeling better.
A single image, taken out of context, can suggest that the worker is not injured. In reality, people with serious injuries still have moments when they leave the house, attend events, or try to live normally. That does not mean they can return to full-time work.
How Surveillance is Used to Intimidate Workers
Surveillance is not only about gathering evidence. It is also about psychological pressure.
When injured workers learn they are being watched, many become afraid to:
- Leave their homes.
- Attend family events.
- Post online.
- Go to the grocery store.
- Follow their doctor’s encouragement to stay active within limits.
This fear creates isolation and stress at a time when workers should be focused on healing. Some individuals are pressured to accept low settlements to end the surveillance.
Why Surveillance Footage Is Often Misleading
Video clips and photos show only a moment in time. They do not exhibit later pain, swelling, or the need for medication or rest. They do not show the physical toll that even small activities can cause.
A worker with a back injury may be able to carry a bag for a few seconds but suffer severe pain for days afterward. Surveillance footage does not capture that reality.
Insurance companies rely on short, selective clips rather than the whole medical picture.
How Our Attorneys Protect Workers from Surveillance Tactics
At Hanning & Sacchetto, we know how surveillance is used and how to challenge it.
Our Whittier workers’ compensation attorneys:
- Explain how the footage was taken and edited.
- Compare surveillance claims to medical records and doctor restrictions.
- Prevent insurers from misrepresenting ordinary daily activities as proof of recovery.
- Push back against intimidation tactics.
- Demand that benefits and treatment continue while disputes are resolved.
We also help injured workers understand how to protect themselves while their claim is pending.
What Injured Workers Should Know
If you have filed a workers’ compensation claim in California, assume that your activities may be monitored. That does not mean you should hide or stop living your life. It means you should be careful about what you post online and understand that insurers may attempt to misrepresent normal behavior.
The most important thing you can do is follow your doctor’s orders and have a legal team that knows how to fight back when surveillance is used unfairly.
Speak With Our Whittier Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Today
If your workers’ compensation claim has been denied, delayed, or challenged after surveillance, you do not have to face the system alone. Hanning & Sacchetto helps injured workers throughout Whittier and Los Angeles County protect their rights and secure the benefits to which they are entitled.
Contact us online or call 562-698-6446 for a free consultation. Our team is ready to stand between you and the insurance companies so you can focus on healing rather than being monitored.