Social media has become an essential part of our day-to-day life. So, you may be asking yourself, “what does social media have to do my personal injury case?”
Well, nearly everything! If you are pursuing a personal injury claim, it’s because you have been hurt as a result of someone else’s actions. By law, you are able to seek compensation for your injury claim for damages such as, medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering and more.
Unfortunately, we are all likely victims of oversharing on social media, and common to post and share your injury experience with your social media friends.
However, you should understand the consequences of posting something to social media.
3 Ways Social Media Can Negatively Impact Your Personal Injury Claim:
- You Could Accidentally Contradict Your Injuries
The posts and information on your social media might contradict your claim. For example, you may have broken your finger after a car accident, but you later mentioned playing in a softball game earlier that week. Though you may have played without affecting the finger, a defense attorney or insurance adjuster could then challenge your injuries.
- You Might Expose What You Are Physically Capable Of
Your social media content can unintentionally expose your physical capabilities after the injury. For example, if you injured your leg, you could post a photo of your family at an amusement park (though you did not go with them), and in that case the defense could argue you actually took the photo, which places you at an amusement park with a broken leg. The argument, then, is that your injuries are not as serious as stated.
- Questionable Check-Ins, Rants, Comments, Posts from Friends and Family
Check-ins, or any mentions from your friends or family on social media can reveal you were somewhere that doesn’t align with your injuries – again, it could be at an amusement park where you were not participating and sitting on the sidelines, but the tagged check-in or mention could be evidence against you.
We have a few tips for social media when filing a personal injury claim:
- Limit what you post, and do not mention anything related to your case.
- Adjust your privacy settings to the highest possible setting.
- Ask friends and family to not post or tag photos of you.
- Review your friends and don’t accept new friend requests of people you don’t know.
Contact Kaiman & Crahan at 502-771-0741 if you need help with your personal injury claim.