How Can Social Media Affect Your Personal Injury Claim?
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
Social media is widely prevalent in today’s society, and you would be hard pressed to find someone that didn’t frequent at least one social media platform daily. While social media is a good way to stay up to date and connected with friends and family across the country and even the world, it is important to watch what you post because it could potentially have negative consequences if you are currently involved in a personal injury claim.The Effects of Social Media Posts for Your Claim
When you are actively pursuing a personal injury claim, social media posts can prove to be extremely detrimental to your case. Many times, people pursue personal injury cases in court because they have received injuries and they are seeking damages for the medical bills, the pain and suffering, and the economic hit that the injured person takes when they are out of work.
To prove the claim, a lot of evidence and documentation is required, and many times, medical experts will even be called to testify about the pain and possible pain the claimant may be experiencing due to the injuries.
However, the defense will be trying to find every way that they can to shred your case apart, and they will also turn to social media to find evidence to support their claims.
Evidence on Social Media to Disprove Physical Injuries
Let’s say, for example, you were hurt in an automobile accident. You sustained serious injuries to your back and neck, and you are no longer able to work and enjoy the activities you used to enjoy frequently. For the sake of this example, we will say you used to love hiking, but your injuries now prevent you from participating in this
activity.
The defense can go through all your social media posts, and if they find even one shred of photographic evidence proving that you are still able to perform your normal tasks, then they will not hesitate to use it and destroy your claim.
Even one picture of you hiking and smiling with your friends dated after the accident is all the defense needs to get the judge to rule against you and deny your claim for compensation.
Evidence on Social Media to Disprove Emotional Suffering
If the personal injury claim is for emotional distress or even depression due to the accident, the defense again can turn to social media to disprove this. They may scour the claimant’s blog, check posts from friends and family, and search pictures dated for after the accident to prove that they are not experiencing a negative state of mind.
While this type of suffering may be harder to find evidence to disprove, the defense will do all they can to bring things together and paint a better picture for themselves.
Social Media Best Practices
To avoid all the hassle and the danger to your personal injury case, it might be in your best interest to suspend your social media accounts temporarily or at least be sure that all your accounts are set to private, and none of the information has been made public.
You can also ask your family and friends to leave you out of any future posts that involve you until after your personal injury case has been settled.
If you have more questions about social media and how it can affect your personal injury claim for compensation, then you should discuss your case with a knowledgeable attorney that can help advise you on the best course of action.