In this article we have provided some general information regarding surveillance, please note this is not meant to be a substitute for legal advice and if you are affected by surveillance you should obtain advice specific to your circumstances.

Surveillance is most common in workers compensation claims where the workers compensation legislation often makes it difficult for insurers to lawfully cease weekly payments of compensation to injured worker. The circumstances in which surveillance occurs is ordinarily where an injured worker is unfit for work and not participating in a return to work program and it will generally occur between 1 to 2 years post accident.

There are certain behaviours which will prompt a workers compensation insurer to commence surveillance activities, these include a worker reporting that they are unable to lift small weights such as shopping bags. The workers’ compensation insurer will instruct surveillance operatives to obtain footage of the injured worker shopping, hoping that they can show footage of the worker handling fairly heavy bags to the workers treating medical practitioners. The end game is to obtain a medical report indicating that the injured worker has lied to his treating medical practitioners and cannot be trusted, and the footage indicates that the worker has recovered from the fracture of the accident and is fit to work.

Where an injured worker has a back injury, it is common for surveillance operatives to try and capture footage of the injured worker walking in the area around the house, in this regard they're trying to show that the injured worker's capacity has not been affected by their workplace injury. This can also take the form of following the worker from their home in a motor vehicle and taking footage of anything that they are doing.

In some cases surveillance of the injured worker happens at a much earlier stage and Foyle Legal has seen it occurred just a couple of months post accident while the injured worker is actually still working for the employer. While this occurs, our experience is that this is relatively rare.

It is common for injured workers to notice that they are the subject of surveillance, the reaction of injured workers will vary from person to person but Foyle Legal has seen several injured workers who choose to confront the surveillance operative. In this kind of situation it is common for the surveillance operative to deny that they are a surveillance operative following which the surveillance operative will advise the insurer that the injured person has become surveillance aware and the surveillance will come to an end.

Foyle Legal specialises in the area of personal injury Law with a focus on workers compensation and motor vehicle accident cases. If you have made a claim for personal injury then Foyle Legal can assist you on a no win no fee basis and our first appointment is obligation free.

Foyle Legal
6/2 Carson Road
Malaga, Perth, WA 6090
Phone: 0408 727 343
www.foylelegal.com