There is a rule experts often give clients with personal injury cases regarding social media: when in doubt, do not post! Social media may have been your companion in the most challenging time of your life, as it has been for most of us. However, regarding personal injury claims, social media can be your worst enemy because it can ruin them.
According to the experts at Felix Gonzalez Accident and Injury Law Firm, social media and personal injury cases should not go together. In other words, whatever you post on social media can seriously impact your personal injury case. In many cases, social media posts have deprived people of getting any compensation at all!
This article will explain in detail why social media and ongoing personal injury claims do not mix.
A Harmless Social Media Post Can Mean the Unfavorable End of Your Case
Suppose a truck hits you, and you are filing a claim against the truck company or owner. Your claim is based on the fact that you sustained injuries that have now prevented you from working. Or, worse, the injuries are permanent, which means you may never be able to return to work again.
Meanwhile, before the accident, you were a gym instructor or a regular gymgoer. After leaving the hospital post-accident, you ventured into the gym to test your capabilities. You wanted to see if you still have it and post an update to your friends and families while at it.
Later that night, your friends invite you out for a night out, which they fully documented on Instagram. This one night out can ruin your case because you have given the other party something to use against you. Regardless of how legitimate your pain and inability to work are, the insurance company you are fighting can discredit it.
All they need to do is go to Instagram and pull out a post of you at a party. They will argue that if you can still go to the gym and party with friends, how hurt can you be? Then, they will either devalue your settlement amount or try to get out of paying altogether.
You Can Tighten Your Privacy Settings on Social Media
Social media platforms typically have privacy settings that users can use to limit the number of people accessing them. By adjusting their privacy settings, they can limit who sees their posts, photos, and entire profiles. These settings are often difficult to access and tend to change monthly, which is why many do not know they exist.
Using these settings helps to protect your case’s integrity and protects you from strangers poking around in your personal life. Nevertheless, remember that even the most privately posted information on social media can be accessed and used in a personal injury case. Therefore, when you post, only allow access to people within your connection and restrict those people from sharing with others.
Why Social Media and Personal Injury Claims Do Not Mix
The cornerstones of your case are the circumstances that led to and the severity of your injury. As such, posting about your injury could mischaracterize its seriousness and how long it could affect you.
You do not want your words or photos to contradict the narrative your legal team is using. The defense counsel will not hesitate to use your words and photos against you.
Conclusion
When you have a personal injury case, you want to stay as far away from social media as possible. There is no rule against using social media while the case is going on.
However, it may be hard to track what to post and what not to post when you are on social media. Therefore, to be safe, it is best to refrain from posting if you are questioning the content. Follow the guidelines mentioned in this post to ensure you get the just compensation without any hurdles.
