Millions of people use social media on a daily basis to share the highlights of their lives. While it is a great way to connect with family and friends or to keep up with the latest news, it is important to understand how it can also jeopardize your personal injury case. Anyone with a pending lawsuit should be extra careful about posting on any social media platform, as it can negatively affect your case. For example, mentioning details about your case or disclosing too many personal details about your life on social media could severely harm your personal injury case. This is especially true if your social media profiles are public; however, even if your profiles are private, it is best to not post at all during an active case or just delete your profiles altogether.
What You Should Know
As mentioned earlier, posting on any type of social media profile can certainly hurt your case. You should know that insurance companies and defense lawyers will go to great lengths to devalue your claim. If you are suing for debilitating injuries, you should know that insurance companies and defense lawyers will certainly be looking for any evidence that can devalue your claim in any way possible. For example, let’s say you posted a picture of you on vacation or you posted a picture of you at a nightclub with friends – insurance agents and the defense counsel will be able to use this as evidence to belittle your claim and argue that you are not as injured as you claim to be.
That is why it is just best not to post at all until your case has closed. Even if you switch your profile to private, this can still be risky because this does not guarantee that the information you share remains private.
More Examples of How Social Media Can Hurt Your Case
There are a myriad of ways social media can hurt your case. Here are some more examples:
- Checking in or tagging your location at a gym while claiming to be immobile
- Posting pictures of your travels while claiming to have extreme injuries
- Posting pictures or videos of you at an amusement park, hiking, or at a nightclub while claiming to have debilitating injuries
- Posting confidential information about your case
At Fiore Legal, our team has extensive experience representing personal injury victims and are here to provide you with the legal guidance you need to ensure that you are protected. Contact our team for a free consultation with a trusted personal injury attorney in Los Angeles.