Employers and workers' compensation insurance companies sometimes employ private investigators to obtain video surveillance of an injured employee. The purpose of video surveillance is often to:
Social Media and Workers' Compensation
Social media posts and messages, even those considered "private," may be discoverable in a Nebraska workers' compensation case. The Nebraska Rules of Discovery provide that any party to a lawsuit may obtain information regarding any matter, not legally privileged, which is relevant or "reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence." Neb. Ct. R. Disc. § 6-326(b)(1). Since 2009, when information obtained from a social media website was first offered as evidence in the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court, employers and workers' compensation insurance companies have increasingly sought to obtain access to injured workers' social media accounts. Social media posts contradicting the claim (the nature and extent of disability alleged, causation of the alleged injury, or the worker's credibility generally) have, in some cases, prompted the Court to reduce or deny workers' compensation benefits. For example:
