Whenever a new personal injury client is interviewed in my office, I always address the issue of social media. In short, be very careful what you post on social media. While Instagram and Facebook may be the most effective way to communicate your fun happenings with friends and family near and far, social media postings are discoverable in the event of a lawsuit.
This means that if you’re injured from a car crash or some other event of negligence of another and you end up in litigation, one of the first places an insurance company’s lawyer looks, is your social media pages. Are you posting about your injury, your disability or are you posting about some adventurous physical activity?
If you’re claiming disabilities from that nasty crash but then you’re posting photos of you at Busch Gardens on a sky-high rollercoaster, or you’ve posted photos of a bruise from a recent fall out of a tree, it reflects badly on your claim. If you’re so hurt, why are you on a jarring theme park ride or why were you climbing a tree and was your injury made worse from your fall?
By the way, these are real life examples of what clients have posted all the while making a claim for injuries that occurred before these posting.
I even follow up my initial consultation with clients by sending a letter reminding them to be careful of the appearances of what they post. Sometimes, it just doesn’t matter.
Just remember – don’t post anything on social media if you don’t mind everyone in the world seeing it. Even if your privacy filter is high insurance company lawyers demand your social media password so they can see absolutely every little thing. Be smart!
Image Credit: tatyanagl / 123RF Stock Photo