#Don’tPostIt. How Social Media Can Ruin Your Personal Injury Lawsuit
If you have been injured in an accident of any kind, the last thing you want to do is to injure yourself further.
But if you are a party in a personal injury lawsuit and you are not careful about the way you use social media, you just may be doing that very thing —injuring yourself further by ruining your personal injury lawsuit.
We understand what an important part of everyone’s lives social media has become.
It seems that everyone is on one or more social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat.
Heck, you can even find us on Facebook and Twitter!
But irresponsible posts, or posting certain information about your accident or injuries, can ruin your personal injury lawsuit.
Be Careful When Posting On Social Media
We are not saying you cannot post anything on social media if you are a party to a personal injury lawsuit (although that is the best approach).
What we are saying is that you must understand how your social media posts can influence your personal injury lawsuit. This is something you should discuss with your personal injury attorney and take some time to educate yourself on.
Think About Who is Looking At Your Posts
You must be aware of who may be reading your posts. Your friends and family, of course, but if you are a plaintiff in a lawsuit there will be other people reviewing your social media including:
- The defendants in your lawsuit
- The defendant’s attorney
- Insurance company adjustors
- Insurance company investigators
Don’t let the “privacy” settings on social media accounts fool you. Insurance companies are able to access and review social media accounts. Once there, they are looking for any information that will weaken your case and decrease the amount of compensation you might be awarded. And, depending on what you have posted, they just might find it.
Plus, the court can, if appropriate, order access to your accounts.
Think About What You are Posting
If you are a personal injury plaintiff, you should never post anything about your case. Don’t post anything about the accident, or how it happened, or what your injuries are.
Nothing.
Period.
If you do, it is very possible that it could cause you to lose your lawsuit.
Personal injury plaintiffs who post pictures of themselves out drinking and laughing with friends or who post information or comments about the accident or their injuries can, as a direct result of such posts, sabotage their cases.
In the hands of a defense attorney, such posts become proof that you were not injured at all—or not seriously.
Anything that could possibly conflict with your claims or testimony in your lawsuit —whether pictures or comments from you, or your friends and family—can ruin your personal injury lawsuit.
Bear in mind that what you say on social media will not be protected by your privacy rights. The courts have held that since the whole point of social media is to share content, you have no expectation of privacy when you post and share content with others – even if it is only with a small group of friends.
That means that your posts are evidence in your case. So are the comments of your friends and family. All of this can be accessed by the defense—by court order if necessary.
The bottom line here is that you should not post anything on social media if you are a personal injury plaintiff. And if you do, you must be extremely careful about what you are posting.
Educate yourself about social media and how it is used in litigation.
Finally, be sure to discuss your situation with our experienced personal injury lawyers if you have questions.
Personal Injury Attorneys in North Central Florida.
John Fagan and his legal team are dedicated to helping those who have been injured due to the negligence of another. Contact us here or simply call our firm at: 777-JOHN. We serve clients throughout Florida. Our main office is in Orange Park, but we have consulting offices in Palatka, Middleburg, Keystone, Starke, Gainesville, and Ocala.
