If you have been involved in any type of accident where you were injured due to someone else’s negligence, you should refrain from posting on any social media platform. No matter how strong and compelling your deposition is, a simple post on any of your social media accounts could affect your case.

The experienced personal injury lawyers at our firm want to make sure that you understand how social media can ruin your case.

Your Personal Injury Case and Social Media

The first thing you should do is deactivate your social media platforms. If you do not do this, it is important that you do not share any information regarding your accident, add any new friends or post any photos. The insurance companies and defense attorneys have social media people watching your social media in order to gain evidence. They may submit your social media posts such as photos that show you are able to engage in any activities that should not be possible with your injury.

For example, let’s say you were involved in a terrifying car accident. When telling your deposition you explain how the injuries incurred from the accident prohibit you from doing daily physical activities. While your case is still pending, you decide to post daily photos of you and your family taking hikes, taking walks, traveling, or even sharing things that could indicate you are solely looking for financial compensation from your personal injury claim. This is how social media can ruin your case.

Will Posting to Social Media Really Ruin My Persona Injury Case?

Although what you are posting on a social media sites may not be harmful, it could be used against you. Some cases are salvageable but it could make the personal injury case more difficult. It could prolong the case or even affect the amount of compensation that you receive had you not posted those things on social media. The defense attorneys will try to use anything that proves your injuries are not as severe as you claim.

Whether you are on a vacation as the driver or the passenger, the personal injury lawyer will argue that your injuries are not severe if you can sit and/or drive for hours to travel. A harmless clip on your story of you having dinner with friends can be argued that you feel well enough to go out. This dinner could even include alcoholic drinks, if you have been prescribed medicine for your injury this will show your carelessness.

Personal Injury Lawyer Suggestion: Avoid Posting On Social Media Sites

The lawyers at Wettermark Keith suggest that all clients stay away from social media as much as possible. It is important that you remember how social media can ruin your case when you post or share anything.

What you post on your social media accounts can determine whether you win or lose your case. You should limit posting, do not accept friend requests from people you do not know, and make all of your social media profiles private. You would rather be safe than sorry.

IS SOCIAL MEDIA EVIDENCE?

One of the most important reason to stay off social media in personal injury cases is that everything you do, including social media, can be used as evidence against you. Even if you’re not posting about the accident itself, any activity of social media at all could be interpreted as normal and healthy… meaning that you aren’t in need of any help with medical bills or medical expenses, payments for lost wages, or a pain and suffering settlement to aid your car accident injuries.

The best thing you can do is stop using social media until your case has ended.

HOW SHOULD I USE SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER AN ACCIDENT?

The best thing you can do online after an accident is to not use social media at all. Instead of posting, call your family and friends to let them know you were in an accident and are in touch with a law firm. Make them and others you are around aware that you would not like pictures of you or status updates about you posted online. Instead, take the opportunity to take a break from social media. It’ll do you and your case good!

WHAT IF I'VE ALREADY POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

Note that anything that’s public to the Internet is legally able to be viewed by the defense attorney. If you haven’t been in an accident, a good way to prepare for potential future cases is to turn all social media to private and to watch what you post. However, in some cases, the defense can even ask for special permission to access your private posts, so even this is not a surefire way to protect your privacy.

This can be especially tricky if you’ve posted incriminating pictures before, such as selfies while driving. Finding good personal injury attorneys and telling them about your social media use will be imperative.

If you have been involved in an accident and posted about it online, your first instinct may be to delete your post after reading this article. Don’t! Deleting a post can be seen as tampering with evidence. The best thing you can do is talk to your car accident lawyers and stop using social media immediately.

Social media use isn’t as private as many people think. Social media can be used to share a lot of information about yourself. Depending on how much you post, insurance companies can often learn more about you from your Instagram than your medical records! If you’re not careful, how you engage online can really be detrimental to your property damage and personal injury claims. Follow these tips, but most importantly, get an injury lawyer who can help you through the whole process.