Surveillance Is Work Product

Posted on: June 17th, 2015

In Iowa Insurance Institute v. Core Group, No. 13-67 (June 12, 2015), the Iowa Supreme Court held that surveillance (video, reports) in workers’ compensation cases is protected work product and will be treated differently than medical records and reports that must be produced upon receipt pursuant to Iowa Code section 85.27(2). This negates the agency rule requiring disclosure of surveillance. Thus, subject to the normal rules of civil procedure, defendants in a workers’ compensation claim can withhold disclosure of the surveillance itself and withhold the fact that surveillance has been performed until after the claimant’s deposition or until it is decided whether the surveillance will be used at hearing. There will be further challenges in the future related to the normal discovery rules, but for now, there is no blanket rule that the surveillance must be produced when it is received.

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