Investigators
During the stressful, unnerving period following an accident, the concerns of the injured maritime worker involve the question of survival – “how am I going to make it for me and my family?” During this same time period, the insurance company has already opened a file, assigned adjusters and set the stage for an anticipated settlement or drawn out litigation.
While the maritime worker is concerning himself with survival, the insurance company is only concerned with “adjusting” the case. It is during this initial unnerving period, immediately after the accident, that the role of the investigator comes into play. The insurance company will hire an investigator to follow, to film, or to otherwise document that the work has reached a point of full recovery or that the injury is not truly serious or appropriate for a high settlement.
Our firm has represented maritime workers whose privacy was disturbed for weeks by investigators in search of that damaging evidence. Our firm has represented maritime workers who have had private investigators perched in their trees on their private property in the hope of catching the worker in an awkward position. Horror stories abound.
Once a claim is made, the injured maritime worker lives a life in a fishbowl. There is nothing illegal about having an investigator hired, and it must be remembered that as the police clearly warn, anything that you say or do will be used against you at a later date.