How Social Media Can Impact Your Personal Injury Case in Florida

How Could Social Media Damage Your Personal Injury Case?

You might not realize that your social media posts could come back to haunt you during your pursuit of compensation from the at-fault party.

Contradictions to Your Injury Claims

If you post anything showing you engaged in sports or other activities, the other party’s insurance company will question whether your injuries were as severe as you’ve claimed. Even if you’re not posting photos of yourself surfing, skiing, or doing something else strenuous, it could undermine your credibility. Smiling in a photo while out to dinner could be twisted to claim you are merely exaggerating your pain or anxiety.

Tagged Posts Are a Problem Too

Friends and family who tag you in photos may be causing harm to your case. Anything could be taken out of context, such as an old vacation photo from several years ago.

Inaccurate Representations of Your Life

Anything you post or that you are tagged in can be construed to look like you’re more active than you really are. Even if you are following your doctor’s orders right down to the letter, social media activities can derail the progress of your personal injury case.

How Does the Defense Team Use Social Media Against Plaintiffs?

Social media posts live on in infamy because privacy settings aren’t always a guarantee what you’ve posted remains hidden. Your posts can be subpoenaed, including any private content. When the defense gets their hands on your posts, it is often considered an admission that is used as evidence rather than an opinion.

Additionally, even things you don’t post yourself, such as posts about you made by friends and family, can be used to reduce your settlement or dismiss your claims. You might think to delete everything, though if there are screenshots and archives, they can still be uncovered. With digital forensics, they can find anything they need and bring it back to the surface.

What You Can Do to Protect Your Personal Injury Case

If you’ve just suffered an injury and have contacted a lawyer to help you with your case, make sure that you protect yourself by taking these steps:

Know What You Should Never Post

Under no circumstances should you ever post about your accident and injuries. Do not talk about it online, and if someone innocently posts a comment on your page asking if you’re ok, do not respond online. You should never check in at locations either, and it’s wise to disable this feature immediately to prevent any misunderstandings about your condition. Above all, never badmouth the other party or discuss fault, even if it absolutely was their fault.

Stop Using Social Media

Since anything can technically be used against you when you post it online, the safest option is to stop using your social media accounts. Do not make any posts, comment, or engage in anything on social media. Let friends and family know not to post about you or tag you in anything either, and to refrain from discussing your accident, injuries, and your case online.

Check Your Privacy Settings

While privacy settings can’t stop everything, they can help you with a little added protection. Use the highest privacy settings available. Do not accept new friends or followers at this time.

Purge Potentially Harmful Content

If any friends have posted something that could be harmful, ask them to remove it. You can additionally take screenshots of your request.

Keep an Eye on Things

While posting new content is on hold for you at the time, don’t stop watching for anything that may be posted about you.

Listen to Your Lawyer

If you are very active on social media or you’ve made recent posts that may impact your case, it is best to share this information with your attorney. They can guide you as to what changes you should make to your social media profiles and any content that may harm your case.