James K. Fireman on surveillance and disability claims

A woman who was injured at work was followed by her disability insurer and accused of a fraudulent claim. Her story, as reported by CBC News, has given rise to questions concerning individuals on long-term disability benefits. What can a claimant who is being followed by an insurer do to protect themselves? Is surveillance by a disability insurer legal?

James K. Fireman, a Toronto disability lawyer, and partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP joined Peter Shurman on Global News Radio’s 640 to discuss why insurance companies resort to surveillance of disability claimants and more.

What They Discussed

Why do insurance companies resort to surveillance of disability claimants?

The majority of the time insurers will follow claimants for days on end as a fishing expedition for things that they can take out of context and use against the claimant. The act of surveillance itself leads many individuals, even disability lawyers, to believe that the claimant has done something wrong.

How far can disability insurers go in terms of surveillance and keeping in mind privacy laws?

There is a distinction between private and public insurers and public insurers do tend to have more leeway. It is important to remember that the fact that surveillance happened is not automatically bad in terms of a legal case despite the infringement on privacy.

How prevalent is surveillance with disability insurers?

Public insurers tend to use surveillance far less than private insurers in order to uncover fraud. Surveillance is very rarely useful for the insurance company.

If you are being surveilled by an insurer and feel it is infringing upon your rights, what should you do?

Individuals who feel they are being followed should document the incidents they feel are too intrusive. If an individual feels their safety is in jeopardy they should contact the police.