If You Have an Open LTD Claim, Assume You Are Being Watched.
Surveillance Is Standard Practice in LTD Claims
Long-term disability insurers have dedicated special investigation units whose sole purpose is finding inconsistencies between what claimants report and what they observe. Physical surveillance — investigators parked outside your home with cameras — is common. Social media monitoring is equally routine. A LinkedIn post showing you at a conference, a Facebook photo at a family event, or an Instagram story from a vacation can be interpreted as evidence you are not as limited as you claim. These images are taken on your best days, stripped of the days you spent in bed recovering afterward. The insurer does not show both sides. We do.
What you need to know
Plain-English answers to the questions that come up most often on these cases.
Physical Surveillance
Investigators may observe and film you at your home, during errands, at medical appointments, or at social events. In New York, surveillance in public spaces is legal. The resulting footage is edited, often selectively, and placed in your claim file. Courts have upheld terminations based on surveillance footage — and overturned them when the footage was shown to be misleading.
Read moreSocial Media as Evidence
Public profiles are fair game. Even private accounts can be accessed through mutual connections or legal process in litigation. The practical advice is simple: do not post photographs or commentary that contradicts your documented limitations. Do not delete existing posts — that could constitute spoliation. Talk to your attorney first.
Read moreContext Is Everything — and Insurers Strip It
Most disabilities are not constant. A claimant with chronic pain may walk to the mailbox one day and be bedridden for three days afterward. Surveillance captures the walk, not the aftermath. Documenting your bad days — in a symptom journal, through treating physician notes, through family statements — creates context that the surveillance report ignores.
Read moreSymptom Journals and Activity Logs
A contemporaneous daily log of your symptoms and functional capacity is one of the most underused tools in LTD litigation. It creates a record of variability that surveillance cannot refute. It also demonstrates self-awareness and consistency when cross-referenced against medical records.
Read moreSurveillance During the Appeal Process
Surveillance does not stop after a denial. If you file an appeal, the insurer may continue monitoring you throughout the administrative review period. Evidence gathered after the denial can be introduced during the appeal and placed in the administrative record.
Read moreWhat to Do If You Suspect You Are Being Followed
Do not confront an investigator. Do not alter your normal activity out of anxiety — sudden changes in behavior look suspicious. Continue to live within your actual limitations, document your symptoms consistently, and call your attorney to discuss what has been observed.
Read moreHow we handle these cases
Step 1
Counsel clients on social media conduct and documentation from the first day of representation.
Step 2
Establish a symptom journal process to create a contemporaneous record of good days and bad days.
Step 3
Obtain any surveillance evidence in the claim file through the plan document request under 29 CFR 2560.503-1.
Step 4
Challenge surveillance footage in the appeal by providing medical and lay evidence of symptom variability.
Step 5
Depose surveillance investigators in federal litigation when footage has been selectively edited.
Real cases. Real results.
Three recent Long-Term Disability outcomes — case context and result. No client identifying information.
An insurer terminated a claimant’s benefits based on video footage showing him carrying grocery bags. We submitted medical evidence documenting his activity intolerance, a detailed treating physician statement, and a family declaration describing the recovery period that followed. The termination was reversed on appeal.
An insurer cited LinkedIn activity — including a professional post — as evidence a claimant could work. We established that the post was written on a rare good day and that cognitive tasks of that complexity were not sustainable over a workday or workweek. The denial was overturned.
During ERISA litigation, we identified that the surveillance footage submitted was a 12-minute clip from a multi-day investigation. The missing footage showed significant functional limitation. The district court found the selective submission undermined the insurer’s credibility.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is evaluated on its own facts. The case outcomes shown are representative examples; details have been altered or generalized to protect client confidentiality.
Related questions
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Brian M. Mittman, Esq.
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Randy has litigated every type of claim before the Workers' Compensation Board on behalf of hundreds of claimants.
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Benai has spent more than a decade fighting for injured workers before the Workers' Compensation Board and the New York State Employees' Retirement Board.
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