The short answer is yes. The insurance company may hire someone to follow you around or conduct surveillance if you make a truck accident injury claim.
Here’s Why They Do This
The insurance company is trying to prove that you are not as hurt as you claim. It is trying to gather evidence of you doing things that are incompatible with your truck accident injuries. To that end, the insurance company may hire someone to take photos, audio, or video of you:
- Driving
- Leaving your home
- Going to work
- Running errands or visiting public places
Additionally, insurance companies may watch all of your social media accounts closely and screenshot anything of interest.
Typically, insurance company surveillance of truck accident injury victims happens around the time of a deposition. However, insurance companies may watch you and record you at any point after your crash until your lawsuit or insurance claim is resolved.
Insurance Company Surveillance Has Limits
It’s uncomfortable to know that you may be watched even if you are honest about your injuries. While you can’t stop the insurance company from using surveillance, you should know that the insurance company’s right to use surveillance is limited. For example, the insurance company cannot:
- Tap your phone
- Record you in your home
- Trespass or use any illegal tactics to gather information
Insurance companies have experience with accident victim surveillance. You may, or may not, know that you are being watched, but you should be prepared for the possibility.
It is important to tell the truth about your injuries and to act consistently with those injuries. Even if you do these things, however, the insurance company may take pictures, video, or audio recordings out of context and use them against you. For this reason, you should protect your rights by hiring an experienced truck accident injury lawyer.
For more tips on protecting your rights after an Illinois truck wreck, please browse our Illinois truck accident library, read answers to our other Illinois truck crash FAQs, or call us directly to set up a free consultation.