INVESTIGATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR HIGH-EXPOSURE & CHALLENGING CLAIMS
by, Keith L. Walker, MA Private Investigator

***Please note that I am not an attorney, and that this article should not be regarded as legal advice.
In all matters pertaining to appropriate investigative conduct, please confer with your legal
counsel to be sure that you are not breaking any laws.

I’ve been a MA private investigators for over 25 years.
I specialize in surveillance .locates and criminal defense.
Prior to becoming a MA private investigator, I'd beEn an insurance claim adjuster.

Because high-exposure claims can be particularly challenging, you find your investigators aren’t getting
the information you need in order for their clients to take action on their "problem claims".

This happens in many cases and there may be several explanations.
Luckily, it often takes just one significant finding to turn the investigation around.



Here are some things you might want your private investigator to try, in order to get the results you need:

Have your private investigator conduct surveillance on successive days.
If there is significant activity on the first day, then video on the following day
will deprive the claimant from using the age-old defense, “I felt strong when
you see me in the video, but the next day I was in pain…”.

Let your MA private investigator conduct for-fee database searches.
For under $100, the search can provide previous addresses; names/address
present and past) of relatives or significant others (and their past addresses);
names of those who may have lived with the subject; property ownership;
bankruptcies, liens, judgments, civil/criminal, small claims a actions, vehicle
registrations, boat ownership, and a lot more.

Search local court records and court records in the counties the subject has previously lived in.
Schedule a surveillance to coincide with the subject’s
birthday/anniversary…or that of a significant other.
Because people tend to spend their birthdays with those with whom they are closest,
it stands to reason that it would be a good window of opportunity to have a private
investigator conduct a surveillance.
However, there is more information that can be inferred by conducting surveillance in this manner:

There are three probable outcomes:
a) Subject stays home; no one visits. Perhaps the subject doesn't’t care, is a loner, or is actually injured.
b) Subject stays home; has company. These people are, most likely, the closest friends and relatives.
Writing down the tag numbers of those vehicles present can result
in having a list of the subject’s closest friends and relatives.
c) Subject goes to an unknown residence. Again, your private investigator (MA and RI) can note
the vehicles tags on all vehicles arriving/leaving, as they may all be the subject's friends.
If the claimant had worked 2nd or 3rd shift, have your MA private investigator conduct
surveillance to coincide with those waking/sleeping hours.

They may keep the same schedule, even though they are not working.
It has been my experience that people under 30 would be more likely to “party” on a
Friday night, whereas people over 30 are likely to have exhausted their energy and wait until Saturday night.

Have your MA private investigator ask the employer check the subject's job application for the following information:
a) “In case of emergency please notify...”.
Generally, you’ll find the person most trusted by the claimant, if not the closest person.
b) References listed. An employer who also was a reference may potentially be the person who hires your claimant “under-the-table”.
c) Memberships, organizations, hobbies, sports, affiliations, awards and anything else that
might provide additional insight into the subject.
Anything listed here will give your MA private investigator some avenues worth exploring.


Conduct a series of spot checks of the subject residence on various days, at various times.
Note whether or not the subject (or other significant individuals) are present.

Over time, a pattern may be established.

A thorough internet and newspaper search should be conducted, if it hasn't’t been done already.
Obituaries are full of information that identifies family members, and frequently,
the towns in which they live. Arrests, marriage announcements (the best men/bridesmaids
are probably the claimant’s best friend), and other mentions of the claimant may help predict future activity.

A search of court records (criminal/civil/housing/probate/divorce) can yield a lot of significant information
about the subject’s past, his/her associates, habits and special interests.
Even financial information can be found in the files.

“Dumpster-diving” should also be considered. Retrieving the claimant’s trash for subsequent
perusal can yield phone bills, credit card receipts, letters and a wide variety of helpful documentation.
Or an very foul-smelling mess of no value whatsoever.

Still, it’s well worth it for your private investigator to do this.
Currently, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts considers discarded trash left on public property
for municipal cleanup, as fair game for investigators because those who have discarded it have
given up the right to privacy, in regards to those items.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that the state of New Hampshire has recently ruled against this practice,
so please bear this in mind.
Get a shredder, everyone!



If you’re positive that the claimant knows he/she is likely to be watched at his IME,
you should still conduct surveillance, but consider using two different investigators.

The claimant may purposely behave in a manner that might best be described as “symptom magnification”,
by exaggerating their symptoms, with the expectation they will be videotaped.
The reason this is desirable is because any subsequent footage of the subject at moments
when he is unaware, will show an even bigger disparity between how the subject really presents,
and how he/she behaved at their medical exam
The greater the disparity, the greater the indication of fraud.

Why a 2nd surveillance vehicle?

Because they can "leapfrog", to avoid detection and conduct an extended surveillance with greater ease.
Or, if the MA private investigator is certain that the claimant is aware of an active surveillance,
the first one should make it look as though he’s trying to follow the claimant,but then get held
up at a traffic light, for example.

Once the claimant feels they have lost their “tail”, they may not notice the second investigator, and let their guard down.


Because of the high exposure, you may have to spend a little more for your private investigator
to complete the investigations effectively, but it will be a worthwhile investment.

Just one successful case can have a great impact on your financial bottom line.

Keith Walker is a license MA private investigator and founder
Discovery Services Investigations, established in Springfield in 1993.



Contact us today!
Talk with an experienced private investigator in MA about your claim investigation needs.
(413) 788-4988

"Get the Truth.
Get the Proof."

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