Being watched on a Phoenix injury claim: your rights and the limits

Phoenix street at dawn in summer as a man loads his SUV, when injury claim surveillance usually happens

You hurt your back at work, or in a crash on the I-10, and now there is a claim open. Then you notice the same SUV parked down your street two mornings running, engine on for the air conditioning, someone sitting in it. It is unsettling, and you want to know whether it is legal and what it means for your claim.

Here is the plain version. Insurers and defense lawyers do sometimes hire private investigators to see whether a person's ordinary days match what is in the file. It is lawful, within limits. It is not an accusation. And there is a lot you can do to make sure it does not hurt a genuine claim. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and anyone with a contested claim should be talking to a lawyer.

Is it legal for someone to film me?

In public, yes. Anyone, including a private investigator, can watch and record what you do where other people could see you: in a parking lot, at a store, on a trail, in a driveway that faces the street. Arizona licenses private investigators through the Department of Public Safety, and doing this kind of work for pay requires that license.

Being watched is not proof that anyone thinks you are lying. Many claims that get surveillance turn out to be exactly what they look like. Footage of someone moving carefully, resting often and doing what the doctor allowed is a common result, and a careful private investigator reports it just as plainly as anything else.

One Phoenix detail is worth knowing. From late spring into early fall, most people run errands and do yard work early in the morning or after dark, so that is when footage on a summer claim tends to come from. It is not a sign of anything; it is just when the city is outside.

What they are not allowed to do

The limits are where your rights sit, so they are worth knowing well.

They cannot record your private conversations. Under A.R.S. 13-3005, intercepting a conversation or phone call without the consent of someone taking part in it is a felony. That is why surveillance video usually has no audio of you talking to other people.

They cannot come onto your property to get a better view. Arizona's first degree trespass statute, A.R.S. 13-1504, covers entering a fenced residential yard unlawfully, and entering any residential yard and looking into the home without lawful authority in reckless disregard of the people inside. A camera pointed through your window from your side yard is not what lawful surveillance looks like.

They should not trick you. Setting up a fake errand or a staged favor to get you to lift something invites the argument that the evidence was manufactured, and many lawyers will not use footage gathered that way.

They should not frighten you. Watching from a distance is one thing. Following so closely that you feel threatened is another.

What to do if you think you are being watched

The best response is the boring one.

Follow your doctor's restrictions, and describe your limits honestly to your doctor and the adjuster.
Keep living your normal life inside those limits. Do not stop doing things you have been cleared to do, and do not exaggerate.
Do not confront the person in the car. If you feel unsafe, call the police.
Write down the date, time, place and vehicle, including the plate if you can see it safely.
Tell your lawyer.

Consistency is what protects a real claim. Footage only becomes a problem when what it shows does not match what has been said.

If you think a line was crossed

If you believe someone came onto your property, filmed inside your home or recorded your conversations, write down everything you noticed while it is fresh and give it to your lawyer. Conduct like that can make the evidence useless to the side that paid for it, and it may be a crime in its own right. You can also ask for the private investigator's name and license number through your lawyer, and check the license status with DPS.

Will I get to see the footage?

If your claim turns into a lawsuit or a hearing, ask your lawyer whether surveillance exists and whether you will be able to see it beforehand. Footage may come up at a deposition or a hearing, and in a Maricopa County lawsuit it may end up in front of a Superior Court judge downtown. A report that is dated, plain and complete can be checked against your own records of those days: appointments, receipts, texts. Keep those.

If you are the one thinking of hiring

Sometimes the person considering surveillance is not an insurer. It might be a small business owner facing a claim from a worker, or someone being sued after a crash. Talk to your lawyer and your insurer first. They may already be handling it, and doing it twice can cause problems, including complaints of harassment.

If you go ahead, the restrictions are what matter. "Cannot lift more than 10 pounds" gives a private investigator something specific to compare against; "hurt back" does not. Agree on hours, a budget cap and the legal limits above in writing before any work starts. If a private investigator offers to do anything on that list of things they cannot do, find someone else.

Checking who is involved

Every private investigator we list in Arizona is a member of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators. You can compare firms on the Phoenix private investigators page. Our guide to what a private investigator does and can't do explains the general limits, and the Phoenix town page has more local listings.

If you are the one on the claim, start a short daily note tonight: what you did, for how long, and how it felt afterwards. If footage ever comes up, your own record of the same days is the most useful thing you can hand your lawyer.

See the board: everyone in Phoenix · private investigators only.