Social Media and Personal Injury Claim, When to Call A Lawyer

Personal Injury Claim

Social media has become the primary way for us to stay in touch with family and friends, being informed about the latest news, post photos or videos about our life, or even just watch funny cat videos to pass the time. But, when you get in an accident, social media can play a big part in the outcome of the case.

You might think that posting to social media about your injuries or overall situation online might not bring too much trouble and might be just as sharing your daily life with your contacts as you have been doing normally. Yet, when involved in a personal injury case, it could be used against your interests by the other party and their team to discredit or even nullify your claims.

You care, and we care too! That’s why we want to give you the details on how your social media can affect your personal injury claim. Below you will find how your people against your accident claim can use your social media to gain the upper hand as well as how to prevent these negligent parties from doing so.

Which social media sites can put your claim at risk?

Facebook

While the use of Facebook has been in decline for the last couple of years as people’s, it is still the most used social network by a large margin. This is the first place the defendant’s team and insurance adjusters will look for something that could hurt your case

Twitter

Twitter has been growing in popularity due to its ease of use to share short ideas and get real-time news updates. Nevertheless, if you use your real name and a real profile picture as a Twitter handle instead of a Twitter persona and even in your other social media accounts, tweeting about your case or how you would spend your settlement money could destroy your claim.

Instagram

Because of the visual nature of Instagram, using it during your claiming process can put you in jeopardy. It might seem innocent enough to post a story of yourself grilling some burgers on Sunday, but it could be used to disprove your pain and suffering as an accident victim.

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Tik Tok

One of the most popular social media among Millennials and Centennials for video sharing. While it might not be in adjusters’ radars yet, posting a video of yourself can lead to a twisted story and your injuries’ severity being put into question.

Can social media be used against you in a personal injury claim?

While it might seem harmless to you to talk about your accident to your friends and family, or posting pictures of your injuries, for the defendant’s legal team and insurance this can be admissible proof that your situation is not as harsh as presented by the personal injury attorney handling your case.

It is a common practice for insurance adjusters to scour your social for any proof that would make their client look innocent or at least lower your compensation amount. Any picture, video, or written post about your current situation can be used as evidence in court.

How can social media be used against you?

There are many ways insurance adjusters and the defendant’s legal team can use your own social media posts against you. The most likely ones that will be presented as evidence in court are:

  • Pictures of what you can do: It is normal for us to share Instagram stories, or post a video of our daily exercise routine on YouTube on a regular basis. Yet, your opponents in court will use your visual media posts to argue that you weren’t gravely injured if you could continue with your normal activities.
  • Disprove your pain and suffering: Adjusters and defense attorneys will argue that because you are posting certain stuff on social media, say a picture of you and the family chilling at the beach 2 months after a car accident will be used as proof that you shouldn’t be restituted for pain and suffering, going by their logic that going to the beach to rest and relax during the weekend is proof enough that you aren’t suffering from the accident.
  • Contradict your story: Posting details about your case or your injury can be presented as evidence that you aren’t taking it seriously, or to contradict the story your legal team is preparing. Not just that, but family and friends giving their opinion about your situation could put your claim in jeopardy, as it could be argued that people close to you are witnesses in how you are handling your injuries and treatment.
  • Misinterpretation of your injuries: This goes hand in hand with the previous point, if you post details about your injuries, because of the words and pictures you could use, it can look like your legal team is creating a different story in bad faith to increase your compensation, as technically your interpretation of the injury would be first-hand proof of their severity.

What can you do to prevent social media from affecting your personal injury claim?

Although using your social media can put your case in jeopardy, there are ways to prevent insurance adjusters and defense attorneys from using your private life against you in court. One might think these preventive measures might disrupt their digital life, but, during a personal injury claim, you should be careful not to put yourself against the ropes.

Here are some tips our expert team of personal injury lawyers can give you to prevent social media from affecting your case:

  1. Put all your accounts in private mode. This way you can close your social media profiles to outsider views. If you don’t use social media that much you could even temporarily deactivate your accounts
  2. Tell your friends and family about your situation in person, so they don’t post a picture of you in a situation that could jeopardize your case
  3. Do not accept friend or contact requests from strangers, if you start receiving connection requests from total strangers who have no people in common as contacts, they can be insurance adjusters or investigators in disguise trying to find something that would hurt your claim.
  4. Do not talk about your case on social media. Do not post pictures of your injuries or how you talked to your attorney
  5. Do not use location services like Foursquare, Swarm, or Facebook check-ins. During your personal injury claim process, one of the things to keep in mind is to show insurance companies that your enjoyment and quality of life have diminished. Going around town checking in at various locations could be interpreted as the total opposite.
  6. Stay off as much as you can from social media. While it might not be possible for you to totally disconnect yourself, limiting your social media until your personal injury case is settled is one of the best preventive measures to protect your claim.

When to Call a Personal Injury Attorney

Using your social media profiles after an accident might be a delicate matter, but our law firm team of expert personal injury lawyers is glad to offer their expertise in the handling of your personal injury and accident claims.

With a proven track record of success in winning the maximum compensation possible for our clients, we will give you the best possible advice for you to continue to enjoy your social media profiles, safe from predatory insurance companies and the eyes of the party that caused you suffering as injury victims.

Contact us today for a free consultation at (844) 824 – 2955. No matter the time of the day, our lawyers are here for you, we are available 24 hours a day, the seven days of the week. We will offer you the best legal advice and handling of your case, the best part, No fees until we win!

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