Does The Insurance Company Have The Right To Have Private Investigators Follow Me?

Yes, they have the right to have you followed. The insurance company usually employs investigators to follow you later in the case after taking your deposition. You have already answered written discovery questions indicating things you can and cannot do. For instance, you may say, “I can’t stand for more than 30 minutes,” or “I can’t climb a flight of stairs,” or “I can’t play with my kids.” As the case moves toward trial, they have investigators going out there to capture video of you doing those things that you said you couldn’t do. They do this very close to the trial, after what’s called the discovery cutoff date, so that we are not entitled to copies of those videotapes before trial. It is a surprise impeachment tactic. It’s a form of trying to impeach you or paint you as a liar.

What Are Some Common Reasons Insurance Companies Use To Deny Personal Injury Claims?

Insurance companies operate on greed and profits. They don’t like to give out their money because then it stays invested and gets a return rate. The most common reasons they deny claims include many of the things discussed in other articles. They will analyze the elements of negligence: was there a duty, first and foremost? If there was no duty, then it doesn’t matter. If there was a duty, did they breach that duty? In California, there is a very extensive vehicle code that sets forth how you can change lanes and what you are supposed to do when you change lanes, when you make a left turn, and when you stop. Those statutes create a duty, so if you violate any of the vehicle codes, you’ve breached that duty.

The insurance company will also look at causation. One of their favorite things to do is to look at the property damage of a vehicle. If it doesn’t appear on its face to be very severe property damage, they will argue that the forces involved in the crash were not sufficient to cause the claimed injuries. They will say, “Your client suffers from what is known as an age-related degenerative condition, and their pain is the result of that, not being rear-ended at 15 miles an hour because we don’t see any property damage.”

Then, they will fall back on the other things mentioned before: you didn’t need any treatment in the first place, but if you did need treatments, you didn’t need that much treatment; and if you did need that much treatment, the bills were too high.

As you can see, they go through their litany of arguments that ultimately conclude that they shouldn’t be paying the claim. The reason that they are trying to avoid paying you is to save money. It’s all about money. How much money can we save? How much can we get away with not paying you so that we keep the money in the coffers? All of these excuses are just a thin veneer for the bottom line. The adjusters will say these things with conviction, but the truth of the matter is they are judged on how much they do or do not payout on their claims. They will say or do anything to pay as little as possible… or nothing.

For more information on Private Investigators for Insurance Companies, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (855) 675-2901 today.