Impacts of Social Media on Personal Injury Claims – Overview
The best thing social media platforms have to offer is allowing people to share experiences, thoughts, and daily activities with people. However, this could be a pitfall in the context of personal injury claims. While social media is useful as supporting evidence, any post you make can be used to invalidate your injuries and suffering. It can affect the outcome of your case in many unexpected ways. In this article, we will look at the impacts of social media on personal injury claims and provide tips to protect them.
What are Personal Injury Claims?
Personal injury claims are requests for compensation from an individual injured due to someone else’s negligence or misconduct.
For example, if you slip and fall in a store because the floor is wet and not marked with a warning, you can file a personal injury claim covering your lost wages, medical invoices, and pain and suffering. A personal injury claim is a way to seek financial help when someone else’s actions cause harm.
What are the Impacts of Social Media on Personal Injury Claims?
Filing a personal injury claim to address medical costs and lost income from someone else’s negligence can take a lot of time and involve many steps. You need to show how serious your injuries are, how they have affected your life, and that the other party is responsible. Be careful with social media during this time, as it can either help or hurt your case.
How Social Media Can Help?
- Provide Evidence: Photos from the car accident scene and posts about your physical condition can serve as evidence and show the extent of injury and damage.
- Give Witness Testimonies: Supportive comments from witnesses help strengthen your personal injury case in court and show that your injuries are real.
How Social Media Can Hurt Your Case?
- Contradictory Evidence: Defense attorneys and insurance companies review your posts to see if they can use them to put you in a negative light. They can say your injuries are not as severe as you claimed when they see you engaging in physical activities and social events through photos and status updates.
- Inconsistent Statements: Any post contradicting your claim can be used against you. If you feel good about recovering quickly while your legal documents say otherwise, a defense attorney will use it as a weapon.
- Pre-existing Conditions: This is the part where it can get trickier. If you had posted about previous injuries, the other party could argue that the recent accident did not cause your current injuries, weakening your claim.
- Surveillance and Monitoring: Insurance companies and defense attorneys monitor your socials through social media discovery to see if they can use an innocent post against you. They can take photos and comments out of context to show you are inflating your injuries.
Tips to Protect Your Personal Injury Claim
Social media posts are generally considered public information, even with strict privacy settings. Your posts can be used as evidence in court, so carefully managing your social media presence is crucial. Your personal injury attorney may advise you to be extremely cautious about your social media usage after an accident. These are the things you can do:
1. Review Privacy Settings
Implement the highest and most advanced privacy on your social media accounts. While these may not be foolproof, your friends or followers who share your posts about the accident can get a subpoena in court. Make sure to:
- Limit your posts to a few people.
- Disable comments and share buttons whenever possible. Apply this to your future posts, too.
- When updating your password, use letters, numbers, and special characters. Some hackers may use shady methods to gain access to your account.
- Enable a one-time password whenever you log in to your account on a different device.
- Do not accept friend requests from people you barely know.
2. Avoid Discussing Your Case
Do not share details about being an accident victim, your injuries, or the legal process on social media. Even harmless comments can be misinterpreted and used against you.
3. Think Before You Post
Be mindful of how others might interpret your posts. Avoid sharing photos or updates that could suggest your injuries are not as severe as you claim.
4. Limit Social Media Activity
Stay off social media while your case is ongoing to reduce the risk of posting something that could harm your case.
5. Get Legal Advice
A personal injury attorney in Missouri can help you consider your online activity carefully and guide you in managing your social media presence after the accident. They can explain what kinds of posts can harm your claims and anticipate how the defense attorney will pin you down with your posts.
These lawyers can gather evidence to support your claim and counter the liable party’s claims. They can say that your posts should not be taken at face value and don’t reflect your daily struggles.
Final Thoughts
Social media can be harmful for your personal injury case. Be careful about what you post online to protect your personal injury claim. Ask your attorney for advice to help you through the process. Being cautious with your posts can help prevent them from harming your case.
Recommended Articles
We hope this article on the impacts of social media on personal injury claims was informative. Check out these articles for more tips on safeguarding your legal case and managing your online presence effectively.
