How Social Media Can Affect Your Personal Injury Case
It’s natural to alert your friends and family when you get hurt in an accident. Many of us turn to social media to share news through various networks. However, this can be a costly mistake if you plan to file a personal injury claim later. Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys may find ways to use your social media posts to contradict your arguments or undermine your credibility. Here’s what you need to know about social media use after an accident and what you can do to protect your legal case.
How Social Media Posts Can Be Used Against You
Accident victims often don’t realize that social media posts can harm their personal injury claims. Unfortunately, insurance companies and defense law firms frequently monitor claimants’ social media accounts for posts they can use against them.
For example, an insurer may use photos or videos of you engaging in activities inconsistent with your claimed medical restrictions or posts that contradict your on-the-record statements. The goal is to discredit you so that it can legally deny your claim or get you to accept a lower settlement figure. Never assume that the insurance company is on your side.
Privacy Settings and Their Limitations
You can fight back against social media surveillance by changing the privacy settings on all your accounts, but even the most restrictive settings may not be enough to protect you. All privacy settings on social media platforms have limitations.
Some platforms offer privacy settings that prevent anyone other than your current connections from viewing your posts, videos, and photos. However, insurers and defense lawyers can circumvent these restrictions in several ways. First, when your profile connections or other users tag you in photos and videos, the insurance company can view those photos if the user does not have the same restrictions on their privacy settings.
Furthermore, insurance companies may try to gain direct access to your account by sending connection requests from someone other than the insurance adjuster. To protect yourself from this sort of phishing expedition, never accept connection requests from anyone you do not know personally.
The Impact of Social Media on Credibility
Insurance companies and defense attorneys sometimes use social media posts to attack an accident victim’s trustworthiness and weaken their case. Take, for example, an individual who claims to have suffered injuries that prevent them from working. If they post photos or videos on social media showing them traveling or participating in sports or other physical activities, the insurance company handling their claim may use those posts to challenge the victim’s statements.
Alternatively, a claimant might post descriptions of the accident or their injuries that inadvertently contradict what they told the insurance company on the record. If an accident victim’s story changes over time, the insurer might point to inconsistencies as proof that the victim is lying.
Finally, social media can harm the credibility of an accident victim who publishes posts attacking the at-fault party or insurance company. If the case goes to trial, a jury might view those posts as trying to shift blame for the accident or depicting the accident victim as more concerned about getting money than their health and well-being.
Tips for Managing Your Social Media During a Personal Injury Case
Social media may seem like a convenient way to update your family and friends on your injuries and recovery. However, you must exercise caution. If you’re pursuing a personal injury case, follow these tips to avoid accidentally jeopardizing your claim:
- Set your account’s privacy to the most restrictive settings to prevent the public from viewing your posts.
- Do not accept connection requests during your case unless you know the individual personally.
- Avoid posting photos or videos of yourself while undergoing treatment and rehabilitation for your injuries.
- Do not discuss the accident, your injuries, or your insurance claim with anyone. Social media posts may become evidence or help the insurance company find potential witnesses for questioning.
- Avoid disparaging the insurance company or opposing party in your personal injury claim, including blaming the opposing party for the incident or complaining about the speed of the insurance company’s handling of your case.
Legal Consequences of Social Media Misuse
Failing to take proper precautions with your social media accounts may negatively affect your personal injury claim. If the insurance company obtains evidence from social media posts contradicting your injury claims, it might significantly reduce its settlement offer or deny your claim outright.
Social media posts can also have damaging consequences at trial. A jury may view potentially contradictory posts or posts attacking the defendant, defense lawyers, or insurance company as harmful to your credibility.
Get Help from Our Personal Injury Lawyers
An experienced personal injury attorney from Brown & Hobkirk, PLLC can advise you on your social media presence to help avoid any adverse effects they might have on your personal injury claim. Our law firm can walk you through the steps you can take to protect yourself online during your injury case, including what not to post on social media and how to increase the privacy of your account.
If the insurance company tries to use your social media posts against you, our attorneys will develop an aggressive strategy to bolster your personal injury case. We can find strong evidence demonstrating the other party’s fault or further establishing the extent of your injuries or disabilities. Armed with this evidence, we can demonstrate that the insurer has merely cast innocent posts in a negative light.
You deserve justice and financial accountability for what happened, and you shouldn’t let an insurance company stand in your way. Contact Brown & Hobkirk, PLLC today to learn how our Arizona personal injury lawyers can protect your online presence and fight for every penny you are owed.