Don’t Let Social Media Posts Hamper Your Personal Injury Claim

If you have suffered significant injuries due to the negligence or recklessness of someone else, chances are you’ve considered filing a personal injury lawsuit in an attempt to recoup some funding to help you deal with overwhelming costs related to medical needs, lost wages, and more. While you certainly would never fake injuries in order to increase the amount of compensation to which you’re entitled, that is precisely what the opposition will be attempting to demonstrate. It therefore behooves you to be extremely careful when it comes to social media.

How Social Media Can Hurt Your Case

Legal adversaries will be looking for any evidence that you may be lying, or at the very least, exaggerating your injuries. For example:

• Even if you have strict privacy settings, don’t think for a second that insurance companies won’t go through the public posts of your friends, or even subpoena private information about you.
• If you claim to have limited mobility due to injuries and then post pictures of yourself playing sports or working in your yard, it might not go well for you.
• When it comes to pictures, even if you don’t post them, your friends might, and their posts could impact your case in a negative way.
• If, even casually, you mention that you’re doing ok, even if you simply post a smiley face to indicate you’re happy, it could be used against you.
• Location data can show that you were out and about instead of home recuperating from your injuries, despite claims of limited mobility.
• Expressing frustrations about your accident or providing any comments about it can always be taken out of context or misconstrued to make it seem that you are partly to blame, which could impact the amount of compensation to which you are entitled.

Avoid These Headaches

Instead of worrying about having the rug ripped out from underneath you in a personal injury case, protect your own interests by taking the following steps:

• Refrain from posting anything about the accident, or how you’re dealing with the aftermath of the accident, until the claim process is complete.
• Do not discuss the legal characteristics of your case.
• Set all of your profiles to “Private.”
• Ask family and friends not to post about you in general and about the accident specifically.
• If you feel you must post something, run it by your attorney first.

Best Outcomes 

The experienced and dedicated Kissimmee personal injury attorneys at Salazar & Kelly Law Group always fight for the best possible outcomes for you. To discuss, schedule a confidential consultation in our Kissimmee office today.