Can Social Media Affect Your Personal Injury Case?
It’s crazy to think that just a few decades ago, there weren’t any cell phones and that, today, almost all of us have one. It’s great to be connected and to have a device that has so many capabilities but it also comes with consequences. The information age is here and today, we’d like to discuss how social media can affect your personal injury claim.
How Can Social Media Hurt Your Personal Injury Claim?
In many cases, when a personal injury claim in filed, insurance companies and investigators may seek to gain access to your social media accounts and could use it against you.
Everything posted to the web is considered public information and records can be traced back to authors even if a post or picture has been deleted. It is important to be careful what you post after an accident. Comments that may seem too happy post-accident can be used against you by the defense attorney. Participating in pictures, videos and other activities could be presented as evidence of lack of injury and could potentially hurt your case.
Should You Post to Social Media After an Accident?
So what are social media best practices? We’ve compiled a list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to your personal injury claim and social media activity.
- Do not post about the crash. Do not post anything pertaining to the incident. Do not respond to inquiries about the accident or the treatment you’re receiving because of the accident.
- Deactivate or discontinue the use of all social media accounts. If you are serious about filing a personal injury claim, the best thing to do is deactivate your social media accounts. Make sure there is nothing posted about your accident or how you are feeling after your accident. Also, make sure you aren’t showing pictures of running or exercising when you claim to be injured.
- Update your privacy settings. If you aren’t willing to deactivate your account, we recommend updating your privacy settings to the highest level possible. This means only those you’ve added as friends can see what you post, as opposed to the general public. Although this method isn’t foolproof like deactivating your account, it does help keep things private from others. A tool often used for this in Facebook is the “view as” feature, which allows you to specifically outline who sees your profile and posts. Be sure to check your settings for any privacy updates that may become available over time.
- Restrict your messages. Do not send text messages, emails, or “private” social media messages regarding your accident, case, overall well-being or activities at any point. Only speak to your lawyer about the details of your treatment or status to ensure complete privacy.
- Alert your friends not to post about you. It’s safer to assume that an insurance company can access your friends’ social media accounts – so information they post about you could be used against you. Others can tag you in images and posts, as well as “check you in” to locations – all of which may depict you being active. These types of things can unknowingly harm your claim. Your privacy settings can be updated to battle this issue as well, by disabling the ability for others to tag you in posts or check-ins.
What If the Insurance Company Looks At My Social Media?
Unfortunately, there’s no way to absolutely ensure your social media accounts not be used against you by insurance companies and opposing parties. But based on previous experience representing victims whose social media accounts have been accessed as evidence against their claims, we urge all victims to take precautions. Anything that could assist in limiting negative evidence can only benefit your chances of a successful resolution. The only way to truly ensure your social media accounts do not affect your personal injury claim is to avoid the use of social media entirely.
If you or a loved one have questions regarding a social media account and how it may relate to your personal injury claim, please give us a call at (701) 402-6644 or fill out our online contact form.