Three Reasons Social Media Is Bad News During A Personal Injury Lawsuit
Social media is a common cause for problems during a personal injury lawsuit. Even if you try to stay offline, there are other ways that things posted on social media can come back to haunt you. The best course of action is to shut down your accounts until after your case is settled. The following are three reasons why.
#1: Compromising pictures
One of the first things the opposing legal team or insurance company is going to look for are pictures that show you aren't injured as severely as you claim. Even if you don't do anything that would show you aren't really injured, it's not unheard of for the other side to try and twist innocent images in ways that make you look uninjured. For example, you have injured your back. If there is a picture of you at a party hugging someone while others are dancing in the background, the other legal team may try and make it look like you were dancing at the party – even though you supposedly have a back injury. It's not just the pictures you post, either. Make sure family and friends are aware that you currently do not want any pictures of you placed on social media, at least not until after your case is settled.
#2: Admissions of fault
Talking casually to friends and family online means nothing you say is private and that it can all be used against you. Even casual joking can provide fodder for the opposing party to claim you were at fault in the accident. One scenario is if a friend jokes around online that you hurt yourself due to your epic clumsiness, and you jokingly agree. Although you don't really mean it, it does look like at admittance of fault. For this reason, you should at a minimum refrain from talking about anything that has to do with your case on social media.
#3: Friends and family comments
Friends and family can unwittingly compromise your case, either because they don't know about it or because they don't realize how their comments can be used against you. First and foremost, log into all of your accounts and turn off the option that allows others to tag you whenever possible. Next, kindly request that no one talks about you online until after your case is settled. Even a simple comment from a friend about a party you both attended at a roller skating rink the day before can bring on trouble, since you may then be asked to prove that you attended but didn't skate.
For more help, talk to a personal injury lawyer, like one from Fitzsimmons & Vervaecke Law Firm, in your area.
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