Social Media and Your Personal Injury Claim

Social media sites, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, are places where people share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with friends (and friends of friends) and family. For many of us, posting on social media is a part of our daily lives. But have you ever wondered if your social media accounts can have enough of an impact that it affects the outcome of your personal injury case?

Tampa Attorney Mickey Keenan explains why it is important to be mindful of the effect your activities and postings can have on your claim. Here’s what to keep in mind before you hit the post or share button.

Social Media is Public  

It is important to remember that the information you post on social media is public. While privacy settings do make it more difficult for others outside of your friendship circle to see your posts or pictures, you should keep in mind that the settings on your friends’ accounts might not be private. Your friends may be posting or commenting about you, tagging you in pictures, or sharing videos of you that could be harmful to your claim. Make sure you talk to your friends about what they are posting about you on their social media accounts.

When it comes to social media you should have no reasonable expectation of privacy.Your posts are put out in the world for all to see and this may include insurance adjusters and attorneys/legal aids.

Social Media Can Impact Your Claim of Injury  

When you are seeking compensation for personal injury, it is the job of the defense to question your credibility and find evidence to minimize your injuries. Insurance companies will look through your social media accounts looking for specific photos or posts that contradict your claim that you have been seriously injured or have significant pain & suffering.

Remember: a picture is worth a thousand words? For example, if you claim to have a back injury, an Instagram post showing you dancing at a wedding could be detrimental to your claim.

While you may not have actually been dancing, but perhaps standing on the dance floor and clapping your hands for mere seconds, the defense can and will try to make it appear that you are not telling the truth about your injuries.

Social Media Can Impact Your Claim of Pain and Suffering

When you have been injured, there may be an additional claim that includes pain and suffering. You may be experiencing symptoms such as depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, and loss of enjoyment of life as a result of your injury.But your social media accounts may show otherwise, even if it is false.

When people post on social media, they usually are trying to put their best foot forward and only show the positive aspects of their life. You may only post the pictures that reflect the fun and happier times you have with your family and friends. Sometimes even photos of your pets can be interpreted as a demonstration that you are enjoying life despite your injury.

Defense attorney scan and will take any “positive” posts and attempt to use them to prove that you are not suffering as much as you present.

Approaching Social Media During a Personal Injury Claim

If you have been injured in an accident, there are some measures you can take to ensure your social media life does not negatively impact your personal injury claim. These include:

• Stop all social media activity as soon as you’re involved in an accident. 
• Consider shutting down your social media accounts. Scary, but it’s only temporary…
• If you insist on keeping your social media accounts open, make sure to set all of them to the highest privacy setting. 
• Do not add any new social media accounts. 
• Do not accept any new friend or follower requests. 
• Ask friends to not tag you or add new images/videos of you.
• Make your attorney aware of your social media accounts. 

At Mickey Keenan P.A.we are committed and willing to fight for you. If you have an injury related to an accident and are seeking compensation, contact our South Tampa law firm immediately for a free consultation.

Our experienced and knowledgeable attorneys will guide you through your case and help you every step of the way,even helping to minimize the negative footprint your social media accounts may leave. Call us today and help us make you whole again.At our law firm, your fight is our fight.