After sustaining a workplace injury, your primary focus should be on recovery and regaining the ability to earn a living. However, many injured employees in Ohio find themselves worrying about a different issue entirely: the feeling that they are being watched. Often, this paranoia has a real basis. Insurance companies and the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) frequently utilize surveillance as a tool to verify the validity of claims.

The state is aggressive in its pursuit of what it considers fraudulent or exaggerated claims. According to the 2025 Annual Report from the Ohio BWC Special Investigations Department, investigators identified over $91.7 million in savings and closed nearly 1,400 cases in a single fiscal year. This massive figure highlights how vigorously the system operates to reduce payouts.

The answer to this question is undoubtedly yes; surveillance footage and investigative reports can be used to deny your claim or terminate your existing benefits. If an investigator captures video evidence that contradicts your reported physical restrictions, that footage becomes powerful evidence against you. However, the accuracy of surveillance is not always guaranteed, and it may not provide a complete picture. If you are concerned about being watched after filing workers' comp in Ohio, it is vital to know your rights, what investigators are legally allowed to do, and how an attorney can help protect your benefits.

How Insurance Companies Use Surveillance in Ohio To Challenge Claims

Workers' compensation in Ohio is designed to provide medical care and wage replacement for legitimate workplace injuries. However, it is also a system driven by financial metrics. Insurance carriers and self-insured employers have a financial incentive to minimize payouts. Consequently, if there is any suspicion that a claim is exaggerated or fraudulent, they will likely initiate an investigation.

How insurance companies use surveillance in Ohio involves hiring private investigators to observe your daily activities. Their goal is not necessarily to catch you committing a crime but to find inconsistencies between what you say you can do and what you actually do.

For example, if a doctor has ordered you to remain off work due to a severe back injury that prevents bending or lifting, but an investigator films you lifting heavy bags of mulch in your garden, the insurance company will use that footage to argue that you are not as injured as you claim. This evidence can lead to a denial of your workplace injury claim in Ohio or a cessation of payments.

Ohio Workers' Compensation Surveillance Laws: What Is Legally Permissible?

Many injured workers assume that their privacy rights prevent investigators from filming them. While you have rights, they are not absolute when you are in public. Ohio workers' compensation surveillance laws generally allow investigators to film you in any location where you do not have a "reasonable expectation of privacy."

Where Investigators Can Film You:

• Public Streets and Sidewalks: Investigators can film anything you do on a public road.
• Your Front Yard: If your yard is visible from the street, an investigator can film you mowing the lawn or washing your car.
• Parking Lots: Grocery store, gym, or medical clinic parking lots are common surveillance spots.
• Parks and Public Venues: Activities at public parks or events are open to observation.

Where Investigators Cannot Film You:

• Inside Your Home: They cannot film through your windows if you are inside, as you have a reasonable expectation of privacy within your dwelling.
• Private Property (Trespassing): Investigators generally cannot trespass on your private property to get a better angle. They must remain on public property.
• Restrooms and Locker Rooms: Filming in these areas is strictly prohibited and illegal.

Crossing these lines could render the evidence collected by an investigator inadmissible, potentially leading to legal repercussions. However, most professional investigators are well-versed in these boundaries and know exactly how close they can get without breaking the law.

Video Surveillance Workers' Comp Claim Ohio: Common Tactics

Investigators use specific strategies to catch injured workers in compromising positions. When dealing with video surveillance workers' comp claims in Ohio, the objective of the investigator is to capture footage of the injured worker's activities. " They are looking for movement, exertion, and physical capability.

Common scenarios investigators target include:

• Medical Appointments: They know exactly when and where you will be because the insurance company pays for the visit. They may wait outside the clinic to see how you walk to your car versus how you walked inside the doctor's office.
• Grocery Shopping: Investigators often follow claimants to supermarkets to see if they lift heavy items like water cases or dog food bags.
• Home Maintenance: Activities like taking out the trash, gardening, or checking the mail are frequent targets because they often involve bending and lifting.
• Gyms and Recreation: If you claim a knee injury but are filmed jogging or playing sports, your claim is in jeopardy.

The danger of this footage is that it lacks context. A five-minute video clip does not show the pain medication you took beforehand, nor does it show the two days you spent in bed recovering from those five minutes of activity.

Social Media and the Workers' Comp Investigation in Ohio

In the modern era, surveillance is not just physical; it is digital. A workers' comp investigation in Ohio often begins with a thorough review of your social media profiles. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter are goldmines for insurance adjusters seeking evidence of fraud or exaggeration.

If you post a photo of yourself on a jet ski while you are supposedly out of work for a neck injury, it does not matter if the photo is five years old. Without context, the insurance company will present it as current evidence that you are lying.

Digital Monitoring Tactics:

• Check-ins: Seeing where you are spending your time.
• Tagged Photos: Even if your profile is private, photos your friends tag you in may be public.
• Status Updates: complaining about helping a friend move furniture when you are on light duty.

To avoid providing ammunition for evidence used to deny workers' comp in Ohio, it is wise to set your profiles to private and refrain from posting about your injury, your activities, or your daily life while your claim is active.

Evidence Used To Deny Workers' Comp in Ohio: When Footage Damages Your Case

The primary way evidence impacts a case is through the testimony of medical experts. The insurance company will send the surveillance footage to your treating physician or an Independent Medical Examiner (IME).

They will ask the doctor a specific question: "Based on this video of the patient carrying a ladder, do you believe their reports of severe back pain are accurate?"

If the doctor sees the footage and agrees that your activities are inconsistent with your reported symptoms, they may change their medical opinion. Once a doctor retracts their support for your disability status, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation investigation team has the grounds to stop your benefits.

The "Good Day" vs. "Bad Day" Dilemma

One of the biggest issues with video evidence is that it captures a single moment. Everyone has good days and bad days. You might feel well enough one morning to carry a bag of groceries, but pay for it with severe pain later. The camera does not capture the aftermath. It only captures the act. This selective documentation is why having an Ohio workers' compensation lawyer is necessary to provide the full context to the court.

Safeguarding Your Future: How To Protect Your Workers' Compensation Rights in Ohio

You do not have to live in fear, but you must be smart. Protecting your rights for workers' comp in Ohio means being consistent, honest, and cautious. Credibility is your most valuable asset in a workers' compensation claim. If you lose your credibility, you lose your case.

Guidelines to protect your claim:

• Follow Doctor’s Orders: If your doctor says no lifting over 10 pounds, do not lift over 10 pounds. Not even once.
• Be Honest About Pain: Do not exaggerate your symptoms to your doctor. If you can bend a little, say so. If you say you "can't move at all" and then are filmed moving slightly, you look like a liar.
• Assume You Are Being Watched: Behave in public as if an investigator is present. This is not about hiding anything; it is about strictly adhering to your medical restrictions.
• Keep a Pain Journal: Document your daily pain levels and activities. If you are filmed doing yard work, your pain journal entry for that day should reflect the pain you felt afterward. This creates a contemporaneous record that counters the video.

What Should You Do If You Are Under Surveillance in Ohio?

Being under surveillance can be unsettling. However, reacting aggressively can hurt your claim more than the surveillance itself. If you suspect you are under surveillance in Ohio, what you should do is remain calm and observant.

Do Not Confront the Investigator. Confronting the person following you is dangerous and counterproductive. If you approach them aggressively, they may film your outburst. This footage can be used to claim you are physically capable of aggression or that you are mentally unstable.

Call the Police if You Feel Unsafe If you are unsure if the person is a private investigator or a potential threat, call the police. A police report documenting a suspicious vehicle can actually help your case later, as it proves you were aware of the harassment.

Document the surveillance. Take notes on the car's description, the license plate, and the times you notice them. Pass this information to your attorney.

The Ohio Workers' Comp Appeal Process After a Surveillance-Based Denial

If your claim is denied based on surveillance footage, it is not the end of the road. The Ohio workers' comp appeal process allows you to challenge the decision. The first level of appeal is usually a hearing before the Industrial Commission of Ohio.

At this hearing, your attorney can cross-examine the investigator. They can question the timing of the video, the editing of the footage, and the context of the activities.

Defenses against surveillance include:

• Identity Mistaken: Proving the person in the video is not you.
• Misleading Angles: Showing how the camera angle makes an object look heavier than it is.
• Solicited Activity: Sometimes investigators trick people into acting (e.g., leaving a heavy package at the door so you have to move it).
• Medical Consistency: Arguing that the activity in the video actually falls within the restrictions set by your doctor.

Workers' Comp Fraud Investigation in Ohio: The Serious Consequences

The BWC takes fraud seriously. A workers' comp fraud investigation in Ohio can lead to more than just a denial of benefits; it can lead to criminal charges. If the state determines that you intentionally deceived the system to collect Ohio workers' compensation benefits, you could face felony charges, restitution requirements, and jail time.

This is why honesty is non-negotiable. Never lie about your abilities. It is better to admit you can do light tasks than to claim total incapacity and be caught doing light tasks. The former gets you modified duty; the latter gets you a fraud charge.

Why You Need an Ohio Workers' Compensation Lawyer

Dealing with a workers' compensation claim that involves surveillance is challenging. Insurers employ significant resources, legal expertise, and professional investigators specifically to undermine your case. You require a strong advocate who not only comprehends the strategies used in Ohio claims for workplace injury denial but also has the knowledge to effectively challenge them.

An attorney in Ohio who specializes in work injury cases can:

• Review surveillance footage to find inconsistencies or editing tricks.
• Depose the private investigator to expose bias or illegal tactics.
• Work with your doctor to clarify that the footage does not contradict your medical diagnosis.
• Represent you at Industrial Commission hearings to fight for your benefits.

If you are searching for a “workers' comp lawyer near me in Ohio,” look for someone who has specific experience handling cases involving surveillance and fraud allegations. This is a niche area of workers' compensation law that requires a strategic defense.

Need Legal Help? Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, is One Phone Call Away

Being under surveillance during your recovery from a serious injury can be both stressful and intrusive. You do not have to face the insurance companies and their investigators alone. If you believe surveillance is being used to unfairly deny your claim, or if your benefits have been suspended due to video evidence, you need immediate legal representation.

Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, is dedicated to standing up for the rights of injured workers in Ohio. We understand the tactics insurance carriers use to minimize settlements, and we know how to fight back with strong evidence and an aggressive legal strategy.

Contact us today for a free consultation. Let us handle the legal complexities so you can focus on what matters most—your recovery