Social media is everywhere in this digital age, and nearly all of us use it to some degree. Social media platforms provide unique insight into our lives, and depending on how active a person is on social media; these insights may be very detailed or broad. While we’re typically aware that we should be mindful of how we display ourselves on social media, one has to be extra careful when involved with a personal injury claim. In today’s blog, we will be going over how social media can affect your personal injury claim and what you can do to prevent issues from arising.

Social Media Can Be Used as Evidence Against your Personal Injury Case

When it comes to defending a case, insurance companies and their lawyers make it their number one goal to discredit the plaintiff, which is normally done by conducting a thorough investigation of the plaintiff’s lifestyle, background, and social activities. Social media is one of the most powerful tools in the investigation process. Insurance lawyers have become quite skilled at searching and viewing social media accounts—even when they’re private. Once an insurance company has access to your social media profile, their team will meticulously sort through everything you’ve ever posted and try to find a discrepancy to use against you. Below are the top types of posts that can negatively affect your personal injury case:

Social Media Posts About Your Accident

Many accident victims like to update their followers on major life events, and personal injuries are one of them. However, if you post something that is ever slightly inconsistent with what you told your insurance company, they’ll certainly use the post against you. They will use it to represent you as an unreliable or dishonest witness. Without a credible plaintiff, winning your personal injury case can become gruesomely difficult. It’s best to simply avoid posting details about your accident on social media.

Conversations with New “Online Friends”

Insurance companies have been known to create fake social media profiles in order to gain access to private social media profiles. While it’s predominantly a bad idea to accept friend requests from people you do not know, you should especially avoid “making new friends” online when you’re involved in a lawsuit. You could unknowingly be providing insurance personnel information that can be used against you.

Public Posts of Any Nature

As it is known, statements and photos can easily be taken out of context, and an insurance company will use this to its advantage. They won’t hesitate to search through everything you’ve ever posted on the internet. For that reason, when a lawsuit starts, it’s a smart idea to lock down your social media posts—including your past ones.

Posts that Imply Your Physical Condition

One of the most essential elements of a lawsuit is proving your damages. In addition to attacking your credibility, insurance companies will make every effort to minimize the damages they might have to pay out. If you were injured in an accident, it’s vital to avoid posting anything on social media that might imply that you’re in better shape than you are. For example, let’s say you went to the gym’s smoothie bar for a drink. Posting that you’re at a gym can be used against you as it can imply that you could have been working out.

Insurance companies will do everything in their power to strengthen their case and weaken yours—including using your own social media posts against you. Usage of social media can easily become a double-edged sword that can end up with you losing your personal injury claim. We hope this blog helps you see how social media can affect your personal injury claim. It’s important that you work closely with your attorney to ensure mistakes (like posting images on social media) don’t get used against you. If you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment with the personal injury lawyers at Bonnici Law Group, give us a call at (858) 261-5454 or click here for a FREE consultation.