Workers’ Comp Fraud Surveillance in New Hampshire: How It Works

Workers’ comp fraud surveillance in New Hampshire is lawful, covert observation of a claimant in public places by a licensed private investigator, ordered by an insurer, third-party administrator, self-insured employer, or defense counsel. The investigator documents the claimant’s actual physical activity on video, compares it against the claimed restrictions, and delivers a report that can be used at a NH Department of Labor hearing or a Massachusetts DIA proceeding.

This guide explains when surveillance is ordered, how a professional investigation actually runs, what the law allows in NH and MA, and what separates video that settles a claim from video that gets thrown out. It is written for claims adjusters, SIU teams, HR managers, and attorneys, but injured workers who want to understand the process will find it straightforward as well.

When insurers and employers order surveillance

Surveillance is not ordered on every claim. It is a targeted tool used when a claim shows red flags that the file alone cannot resolve. The common triggers we see from NH and MA clients:

• The reported injury is unwitnessed, or was reported on a Monday or right after a disciplinary action, layoff notice, or denied vacation request.
• Medical findings are subjective (soft-tissue, back, neck, chronic pain) and the claimant’s description of limitations keeps shifting.
• The claimant is hard to reach, misses independent medical examinations, or declines light-duty work that fits the stated restrictions.
• A tip from a coworker or neighbor, or social media activity, suggests the claimant is working another job, running a side business, or doing physical activities inconsistent with the claim.
• A high-exposure claim is heading toward a lump-sum settlement, a permanent impairment rating, or a contested hearing, and the carrier needs an objective picture before committing.

Surveillance works best when it is timed to a specific question: Can this person lift, bend, drive, climb, or work a full shift? The investigation is built to answer that question with documented activity, not impressions.

How a workers’ comp surveillance investigation runs

A professional operation follows the same discipline as a law-enforcement surveillance detail. Here is the sequence we use for surveillance investigations across New Hampshire and Massachusetts:

1. Intake and file review. We review the claim file, the stated restrictions, the treating physician’s notes, the IME findings if any, and the claimant’s address, vehicles, and known routine. The adjuster tells us exactly what activity would matter to the claim.
2. Pre-surveillance workup. Before anyone sits on a house, we confirm the residence, identify vehicles, check public social media, and map the neighborhood for lawful observation points. Poor preparation is the number one reason surveillance budgets get wasted.
3. Field surveillance. An investigator establishes covert observation from a public vantage point and documents the subject’s activity on time-stamped video. Typical assignments run in blocks of one to three consecutive days, often starting early morning when claimants leave for appointments, errands, or undisclosed work.
4. Mobile surveillance. When the subject drives, the investigator follows at a distance and continues documenting at the destination: a gym, a job site, a store parking lot, a youth sports field. Activity in these places is in public view and lawful to record.
5. Reporting. The client receives a written report with a minute-by-minute activity log, still frames, and the full unedited video. The report states what was observed and nothing more. We do not editorialize, and we do not characterize medical capacity. That is for the physician and the hearing officer.

Most carriers budget surveillance in blocks and extend only when the first block produces relevant activity. A candid investigator will tell you after day one whether the subject’s pattern makes more time worthwhile.

What is legal in New Hampshire and Massachusetts

Surveillance of a workers’ comp claimant is legal in both states when it is conducted by a licensed investigator from places open to the public. The rules that matter:

• Public view only. Anything visible from a public street, sidewalk, parking lot, or business open to the public may be observed and recorded. Investigators may not trespass onto private property, peer through windows with enhancement devices, or record inside a home.
• No audio interception. New Hampshire (RSA 570-A) and Massachusetts (M.G.L. c. 272, § 99) both prohibit secretly recording private conversations. Professional surveillance video is captured without audio of private conversations.
• No pretexting medical or financial information. Investigators cannot pose as a doctor’s office or a bank to obtain records. Documentation comes from observation and lawful public records.
• Licensing. Surveillance for hire requires a state private investigator license. Donahue Investigative Services holds NH PI License #M-2025-0424 and MA License #LP1599A, which matters for claimants who live in one state and work or recreate in the other.
• No harassment. Surveillance is passive. The investigator never confronts the subject, never follows so closely that the subject feels threatened, and breaks off if detected rather than risk a harassment complaint.

Workers’ compensation in New Hampshire is governed by RSA 281-A and administered by the NH Department of Labor; in Massachusetts it is governed by M.G.L. c. 152 and administered by the Department of Industrial Accidents. Both systems routinely see surveillance video introduced by the insurer, and both expect that video to have been obtained lawfully.

What makes surveillance video hold up at a hearing

Continuous, time-stamped, unedited footage

Claimant counsel will ask for the complete raw video, not a highlight reel. If the carrier only has a 90-second clip of the claimant lifting a cooler, the obvious question is what happened in the other seven hours. Professional reports include the full footage and a log that accounts for every gap, such as the subject being inside a building.

A clean chain of custody

The investigator who shot the video should be able to testify to when it was recorded, on what equipment, that it has not been altered, and how it was stored. This is where former law enforcement experience shows. Our investigators spent decades producing evidence for prosecutors, and the same standards apply to a comp file.

Activity that actually contradicts the restrictions

Video of a claimant walking to the mailbox does not help if the restriction is no lifting over 20 pounds. The surveillance plan should be tied to the specific medical restrictions in the file. That is why intake matters, and why we ask the adjuster what activity would be meaningful before we start.

A report that is factual, not accusatory

The word “fraud” is a legal conclusion. A professional report describes what the subject did, for how long, and where. It is the IME physician, the adjuster, and the hearing officer who decide what the activity means. Reports that overreach get discredited, and the investigator’s credibility goes with them. For contested claims, our litigation support team coordinates directly with defense counsel so the video is packaged the way the attorney needs it for the hearing.

Why NH and MA employers use a dual-licensed firm

A large share of the southern New Hampshire workforce crosses the Massachusetts line, and claimants do too. A worker injured at a Nashua warehouse may live in Lowell; a Lawrence employee may spend weekends at a lake house in the Lakes Region. A firm licensed only in one state has to stop at the border or hand the case to someone else, which breaks continuity and chain of custody. Based in Salem, NH, we hold active licenses in both states and run cases seamlessly from Manchester and Nashua down through the Merrimack Valley and greater Boston.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal for an insurance company to put a workers’ comp claimant under surveillance in New Hampshire?

Yes. Insurers, self-insured employers, and their attorneys may hire a licensed private investigator to observe and record a claimant in public places in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The investigator may not trespass, record private conversations, or harass the subject. Lawfully obtained video is routinely used in NH Department of Labor and MA Department of Industrial Accidents proceedings.

How many days of surveillance does a workers’ comp case usually need?

Most assignments start with a block of two or three consecutive days, timed around known appointments or weekends when activity is most likely. If the first block shows a clear pattern, the carrier may extend it to strengthen the record. If the subject’s activity is consistent with the restrictions, a good investigator will say so and recommend stopping rather than spending more of the client’s budget.

What happens if the surveillance shows the claimant is genuinely injured?

That is a useful result, not a wasted one. Video that confirms a claimant is following restrictions lets the adjuster reserve the claim with confidence, move toward settlement, and avoid an unnecessary hearing. Objective documentation protects legitimate claimants as much as it exposes exaggerated claims.

Talk to a former law enforcement investigator

Donahue Investigative Services is led by Mark J. Donahue, a former Salem, NH police officer with a 34-year law enforcement career, and Joseph E. McCain, a retired Somerville, MA police lieutenant. We provide workers’ comp surveillance to insurers, TPAs, self-insured employers, and defense counsel across New Hampshire and Massachusetts, with reports built to stand up at a hearing. Call 603-785-2800 or request a free, confidential consultation.