You might think that social media is on your side if you suffer, but sharing what you go through can backfire especially if you have an ongoing personal injury case. Your Facebook account might connect you with family and friends who you would love to share details with, but that is what can make you lose in court as well. Sharing the pictures of the accident will be quite tempting, but doing so can expose a new area of concern that your attorney will not thank you for.
Social media and personal injury case – oil and water?
The bottom line is that what you share and say online may be used against you in court to dispute your personal injury claim. Those platforms are actually what insurance companies visit first when they are investigating such claims because their aim is to do whatever they can to reduce the amount you deserve as compensation for the injuries you sustained. Besides the actual content, they can also use the time, date and the location of the post to invalidate your claim or bring your version of events into question.
In fact, even ‘liking’ or following certain health and wellness pages during this period of time can be held against you. These might tip off investigators of conditions you might be suffering from and which they might say contributed to your injuries. If you were ever addicted to drugs or suffered from substance abuse, these might be used to validate that you would not have gotten injured if not for these. In other words, you might be looking at a substantially reduced amount which may not be enough to cover your medical care. So if you plan on cycling after sustaining injuries in an accident that you need coverage for, it might be best to either scrap the plan or refrain from posting about it online!
Social media in court
Some of the types of posts that can and will be used against you in a court of law during a personal injury case include:
- Status updates showing you engaging in rigorous activities
- Pictures or videos of you doing physical activities such as mowing the lawn, painting your home, running a marathon etc.
- Posts that can make others doubt whether you were involved in an accident or not
- Tracking applications online that can be used to discredit your claim regarding the circumstances leading to your accident and the resulting injuries.
Personal injury case? – Call Attorney Javier Marcos
If you were injured in an accident which you were not to blame for, then you need a personal injury lawyer in your corner who knows about these things. Javier and Marcos Associates can advise you on what you can and should not do on social media after suffering said accident. . Call us by dialing 713-999-4444 / 1(800) 444-8118 today and we will face your insurance company in your stead with your claims.
