Social Media and Personal Injury Cases: Exercising Caution

The law protects the rights of an individual who has been a victim of another person’s actions or inactions. They have a right to file a personal injury claim for compensation and justice for the harm caused. Usually, the victim would file a claim against an insurance provider, who will investigate the incident.

Meanwhile, investigating the incident aims to establish the truth and assess the injuries. One way they do this is by checking through the victim's social media handle after requesting disclosure. Let us look at reasons why you need to exercise caution during your case where social media is concerned.

How Insurance Companies Investigate

As we said earlier, part of insurance providers’ way of investigating a claim is through the claimer’s social media account. They will ask for your social media activity to extract the necessary information to support their arguments against your claim. Insurance companies are only interested in profit making; therefore, they will use any little indiscretion on your part against you.

You want to exercise caution in your activity on social media to avoid falling into their trap. More so, you do not want to give them evidence they will use to downplay the seriousness of your injury. Worse still, they can use what you post to assign you a ratio of the blame, thus harming your case.

What You Should and Should Not Do on Social Media During Your Case

Now that you understand that your social media activity can become a weapon in the defendant’s insurer’s hands against you. You want to take note of the following dos and don’ts of social media while your personal injury case is ongoing.

• Do not post about your injuries

Avoid documenting even the littlest information about your mental, emotional, or bodily injury on social media. You may reveal your plan to the opposition party or give them ideas on how to fight your case. More so, because the case is centered on your injuries and recovery, there will be discussions on these aspects.

The only person you should share details of your injuries, such as your medical scans, is your attorney. They are the ones who need the information to help build a strong case for you, negotiating from a strong position.

• Tell your folks not to tag you in posts

You should inform your family and friends not to tag you in their social media posts. That is because investigators will not stop at your post alone; they will also investigate your friends and family.

If your folks have posted photos or made comments about your accident, investigators can use it against you. Therefore, your friends and family also need to understand the dos and don’ts of social media during personal injury cases.

• Do not show pictures of you having fun

We understand you have taken time off to rejuvenate and help your body heal. However, while your case has not yet been concluded, you want to avoid sharing your vacation details online.

With your lawyer’s help, you want to show that your abilities and happiness have dwindled due to your injuries. Therefore, go on and relax, but do not post pictures of your retreat online. The opposition can interpret it to mean your injury is not as severe as you claim – even if it is.

Conclusion

“Oversharing on social media can be a big threat to your injury case. It is best to stop your activities on social media for now and resume once your case is resolved,” says attorney Andrew Kryder of The Kryder Law Group.