After a car accident, your friends, relatives, and associates will be checking your social media posts to see how you are doing. They can post questions about your condition that you may be inspired to answer – but don’t. You may believe that because your social media accounts are set to “private” that your posts cannot be accessed, but this is not necessarily true.
Posting on social media is part of modern life, but in a personal injury case, these posts could cause a serious problem. The content you post, whether images of a night out for dinner, a get together with friends, or a post that you are “recovering fast,” “feeling great,” or any other written, image, or video content may be used against you, to prove that your condition does not match the data in a claim or lawsuit.
In any personal injury case, your best approach is to avoid any social media posts or any kind while your case is pending. If you avoid social media altogether, you avoid any risk.
Are Your Posts Actually “Private?”
Anything you post, even on a private account, is likely to be accessed by the insurance company in a personal injury case – particularly in high-value cases. The defense may gain access to all your images, video content, and other posts during discovery. When defending against a personal injury claim, it has become a standard process for the defense to seek access to social media to find any information that could reduce the value of a claim or deny it altogether.
Best Social Media Practices During a Personal Injury Case
After sustaining an injury, whether a car accident, premises liability case, product liability case, or medical malpractice, take these steps to protect your right to the compensation you deserve:
- Do not post any information about an accident or situation in which you were injured.
- Do not post any images or video revealing your injuries, or of yourself speaking about what occurred.
- Post nothing about your physical or emotional condition.
- Post nothing about your injury claim or pending lawsuit.
- If you receive a “friend” request, don’t accept it unless you know the person well and have verified their identity.
- Ask your family and close friends to refrain from tagging you in any posts.
- Set all your social media accounts to private.
- Do NOT delete any posts without first speaking to your attorney – it could backfire.
How Your Social Media Posts Can Damage Your Injury Claim
To understand how your posts could damage your claim, you need to be aware of how insurance companies work. Insurance companies are for-profit operations. The less they pay, the more profits they make for their shareholders. They typically search out any factor that could reduce the value of an injury claim – and social media is one of the places they go for information.
You may want to post a comment that seems harmless, even as simple as “I’m doing great!” If your claim or lawsuit alleges that you are experiencing pain and suffering, but your posts and check-ins make it look as if you are enjoying a pleasant life, it can mean trouble. If you post images of your physical activities, such as cycling, dancing, swimming, or other sports, these images could be used to argue that your injuries were less serious, could have been made worse, or even caused by your activities as revealed on social media.
Injured in an Accident? You Need the Right Lawyer.
Your personal injury attorney should be experienced, talented, and have a history of achieving favorable outcomes in settlements and at trial.
At Pendergast Law, we are proud to offer our clients a no-fee promise, which means if we do not make a recovery in your case, there is no attorney fee owed. Guaranteed. Contact us toll-free 888-539-9211 for a free consultation.