Staying Off Social Media After an Accident
If you’ve been injured and need compensation, you should know ahead of time how social media can affect personal injury cases.
As a personal injury lawyer Memphis TN residents look to for advice, I’ve seen a lot of cases where the client didn’t realize what social media could do. In general, I’d recommend you stay off of social media altogether after an accident, but a lot of people can’t do that. So at the very least, you should avoid saying anything about the accident or your health.
Loved ones might ask how you’re doing or feeling, and you should feel free to talk in person. But try not to put in writing anything about your situation.
How Social Media Can Affect Personal Injury Cases
When you post to social media, insurance companies can use what you say against you. It could come up in court or in a deposition as evidence when you least expect it. Here are some of the problems that can come from posting to social media after an injury:
1. You might appear to be having too good a time after your accident.
For example, say you broke your leg or hurt your back in a car accident. But then you go to your friend’s birthday party and smile for the camera. Plenty of people can have fun while injured and even in great pain. You’re completely innocent. But in the right hands, a lawyer might construe you weren’t in as much pain as you really were.
2. You could accidentally say something flippant without realizing it.
Say you tell your friends and family about the accident. But then people worry and start commenting. So you put them at ease and say, “It’s all right. I’m totally OK.” Well, two hours later, when your back pain starts to show up and you realize you have whiplash, that statement won’t be true anymore. And with screenshots and web archives, it might be too late to take it back once you realize the problem.
3. You could give away valuable information.
You and your lawyer share attorney-client privilege for a reason. There’s information you only should give to your lawyer and vice versa. I always tell clients above all, do not speak with the other person’s insurance company. And when you discuss your injury online, you tell the whole world – including the other side.
Lastly, I’ll say you can always switch your settings to private. But I personally wouldn’t risk it. You might make an error, or the other side might have ways to find your post that you don’t realize. And there are always screenshots. So why try it when you could just avoid posting anything?
Find a Lawyer for Your Personal Injury Case
If you’ve been injured and it wasn’t your fault, contact me today. We’ve received multiple awards for client satisfaction because we give you our time and full attention. We’ll investigate your case and discuss your options with you. And we’ll also help you navigate questions like how social media can affect personal injury cases and anything else unexpected that might come up.
We don’t get paid anything unless you do, so there’s no strings attached. Contact us today to get started.