Social Media Use in a Personal Injury Lawsuit

If you are involved in a personal injury lawsuit, using social media can complicate your position. These tips can help prevent social media from affecting your case’s outcome.

Don’t Create Posts

You will probably want to inform your family and friends about your injury to assuage their concerns about your prognosis. Although social media can help you efficiently notify everyone simultaneously, it is better to speak with your contacts in person or by phone. In addition, defense attorneys and insurance adjusters looking for evidence that your injuries are not as severe as you previously indicated may find contradictory comments or images you post on social media.

Ask Friends and Family To Refrain From Posting

In addition to refraining from making any posts, you should ask family and friends to avoid them, too. The defendant’s team could attempt to access the social media accounts of those who might reference your injury seeking evidence that disqualifies your position. You will benefit from asking friends and family to do the following:

• Not post about your accident
• Not post any pictures of you
• Not tag you in any posts

If anyone you know posts about you, avoid responding in any way. You may feel uncomfortable not commenting or acknowledging posts, but doing so could backfire. If possible, do not read social media posts if you do not think you can refrain from interacting with them.

Adjust Your Privacy Settings

Remember to change the privacy settings for all your social media accounts. Although changing your settings will not entirely protect your accounts from prying eyes, it will make it significantly more difficult for someone to find something that the defense can use against you.

Do Not Accept Connection Requests

You might think you are rude when you ignore or reject a request to connect on social media, but if you do not recognize the person making the request, you are better off ignoring it. Insurance adjusters and defense attorneys will establish media profiles to gain access to information that you would rather keep confidential.

Avoid Deleting Posts

If you already made some posts in the aftermath of your injury, it is better to leave them alone. If you delete them, you risk them resurfacing during legal proceedings, which can cause suspicion as it could appear that you are hiding something.

Speaking to a lawyer in your area can help you plan a strategy that will put you in a better position to get the damages you deserve for your injury. Social media use is just one component to a successful strategy. Contact a personal injury lawyer today to address all aspects of your case.