Social Media and Your Personal Injury Claim
Social media sites, like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, are places where people share their experiences, thoughts, and feelings with friends and family. However, if you’re in the middle of a personal injury claim, it is important to be very mindful of the impact your social media activity may have on your case. Here are some important considerations to keep in mind:
Social Media is Public Record
The information you post on social media is public, and you may have no reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to any of the posts you put out in the world for all to see. This public includes insurance adjusters and defense attorneys.
Social Media Can Impact Your Claim of Physical Injury
When you’re seeking compensation for a personal injury, it is the job of the defense attorney to question your truthfulness and credibility. They will try and find evidence to minimize your injuries. Insurance companies may comb through your social media pages looking for photos or posts that might contradict your assertion that you have been seriously injured. For example, if you claim to have a back injury, an Instagram post that appears to show you dancing at a party could be detrimental to your case. Even though you may not have been actually dancing, the defense can try and make it appear as though you are not telling the whole truth about your injuries.
Social Media Can Impact a Claim of Pain and Suffering
When you’ve been injured, you may make a claim for pain and suffering. Perhaps you’ve experienced anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, and loss of enjoyment of life as a result of your injury. When people put up posts on social media, they are usually trying to put their best foot forward and only show some of the positive aspects of their lives. You usually post pictures of fun times with family and friends. Even photos of your pets could be interpreted by the defense as a demonstration that you are, in fact, enjoying life despite your injury. Defense attorneys will take any of these “positive” posts and attempt to use them to prove that you may not be suffering as much as you present.
Approaching Social Media During a Personal Injury Claim
If you have been injured in an accident, there are some important measures you may want to take to ensure your social media life doesn’t negatively impact your claim for personal injury.
- Make sure to discontinue all social media activity as soon as you are involved in an accident.
- Do not post about the accident.
- Consider the possibility of shutting down your social media accounts altogether.
- If you wish to keep your social media accounts open, make sure to set all of them to the highest privacy setting available.
- Do not open any new social media accounts.
- Do not accept any new friend or follower requests.
- Make your attorney aware of all of your social media accounts.
Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney
If you’ve been injured in an accident, you should have your case evaluated by an experienced Florida personal injury attorney. Contact the trusted lawyers at Abrahamson & Uiterwyk or call us 1-800-538-4878 to schedule your free consultation.