Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Workers' Comp Surveillance Across Tennessee
Delator Claims Division conducts lawful surveillance on open workers' compensation claims for carriers, self-insured employers, third-party administrators and their counsel. Investigators observe from public vantage points, record dated video and log activity factually, without contacting the claimant.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
Surveillance answers a narrow question: what was this person seen doing, on which dates, at which times. The investigator sets up where the public is entitled to be, such as a street, a parking lot or a store aisle, and records what is visible from there. The product is continuous dated video and a written log that describes movement in plain terms: walked, carried, bent, drove, climbed. Nothing in the log interprets what the movement means.
The service is available only to the parties responsible for paying or defending the claim. It is not offered to injured workers, and it is not used to follow anyone for personal reasons. Investigators do not approach, question or engage the claimant, do not enter private property, and do not film into homes or other places where a person expects privacy. Days with no activity are reported the same way as days with a great deal.
When carriers typically assign surveillance
- A claimant remains off work well past the expected period and the adjuster has no current information about daily activity.
- A medical appointment or functional evaluation is scheduled, and the client wants activity documented on the days before, during and after it.
- A tip from a coworker or neighbor describes yard work, lifting or sports, and the carrier wants firsthand observation instead of hearsay.
- A settlement conference or mediation is approaching and counsel wants a recent, dated record of observed activity in the file.
- Earlier surveillance by another vendor produced a few minutes of unclear footage and the client needs a properly documented second effort.
What a surveillance assignment produces
- Dated, continuous video
- Footage with date and time shown, recorded without selective cuts while the subject is in view, so the sequence of each activity can be reviewed in full.
- Minute-by-minute activity log
- A written chronology of each surveillance day listing start and end times, locations, and physical movements described in neutral, non-medical language.
- Subject identification
- How the investigator confirmed the person observed is the claimant, using the description and photograph supplied by the client and visible identifiers at the scene.
- Vantage point record
- Where the investigator was positioned for each recording, confirming that observation took place from public roads, sidewalks or areas open to the public.
- Vehicles and destinations
- Vehicles the subject was seen driving or riding in and the places visited, such as stores, gyms or job sites, with arrival and departure times.
- No-activity periods
- Hours when the subject was not seen, residences that showed no movement and days ended early, reported plainly so the client knows the full effort.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
Planning the days and hours that matter
A surveillance day is only useful if it is scheduled around the subject's routine. Before the first day, the investigator reviews what the client knows: the residence, vehicles, household members, appointment dates and any reported activity. Public-source research may add a regular gym time, a church schedule or a weekend commitment. The plan then covers the days most likely to show ordinary activity, often an early weekday, a weekend day and the date of a scheduled appointment.
Rural addresses, gated communities and apartment complexes each limit where an investigator can lawfully sit. In much of Tennessee a residence is on a long private drive with one public road nearby. The investigator tells the client in advance what the location allows and does not solve the problem by stepping onto private land. Delator covers all 95 counties through its own licensed personnel and does not hand surveillance to unaffiliated subcontractors.
Why the log avoids medical language
An investigator can truthfully report that a person lifted a bag of mulch from a truck bed and carried it about thirty feet. An investigator cannot truthfully report that the person showed no sign of pain, or that the activity exceeds a restriction. Those are medical judgments. Delator's logs describe what the camera recorded and stop there. Treating physicians, independent examiners and the carrier's own reviewers decide what the footage means for the claim.
That restraint protects the client's file. Video paired with a factual log can be handed to a physician or to counsel without first removing an investigator's opinions. If testimony is later needed, the investigator can speak to what was personally observed and how it was recorded. Whether any footage is accepted as evidence is decided by the judge or tribunal hearing the matter, not by Delator.
This service is available to insurance carriers, self-insured entities, third-party administrators and the attorneys who represent them. Delator reports facts and observed indicators; decisions on coverage, liability, settlement and any fraud referral remain with the client.
It is not offered to policyholders or claimants, and Delator does not act as a public adjuster. Policyholders and claimants can request neutral scene documentation instead.
Common questions about this service
Who can order workers' comp surveillance from Delator?
Workers' compensation carriers, self-insured employers, third-party administrators and the attorneys representing them. Delator does not accept surveillance requests from injured workers, claimant attorneys or private individuals with a personal interest in the subject. The assignment is tied to an open claim identified by the requesting party.
Does the investigator ever interact with the claimant?
No. The investigator does not speak to the claimant, does not stage situations to prompt activity, and does not use a false story to obtain information. If the subject appears to notice the investigator, the day is ended or repositioned and the client is told.
How many days of surveillance are typical?
That is the client's decision. Many assignments are authorized as two or three days spread across a week so that a single unusual day does not stand alone. The investigator reports after each day so the adjuster can extend, pause or close the assignment based on what was seen.
What happens if nothing is observed?
The report says so. It lists the hours covered, what was visible at the residence, and any indication of whether the subject was home. A day without activity is a result the client is entitled to know about, and it is never padded with speculation.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.