The Dangers Of Social Media Use On An Injury Case
Were you recently injured in an accident, and now seeking compensation through the legal system? If so, you may be tempted to keep all your social media followers updated on the situation with great detail. However, this is the one thing you should actually avoid doing. Here is what you need to know about the dangers of social media use during your injury case.
How Everything You Post Is Public Record
You may think that you are protected because you have accounts that are locked down and that nobody else can see. However, you should not consider your posts private. Anything that you say online could be used against you, no matter how somebody gets that post. All it takes is someone that makes a fake account and follow you to get access to your entire post history. Once they have it, they can use it against you in court. You may delete the posts at some point, but another person may have saved them. Nothing is ever completely deleted once it is posted online
How Social Media Can Be Used Against You
Why would someone want access to your post history? They may be looking for evidence that your injury isn't as bad as you have led on. Lawyers of the defendant will be looking for things like photos of you being physically active, or updates that you've given followers about how you are feeling.
The problem is that many people post a positive outlook on things when using social media. People are more tempted to say that they are recovering great from an injury or that they are doing old activities again, even if they are not back at 100%. The quest to get a few more likes on a post can actually be used against you. A defense attorney may present these social media posts as evidence that you are healing and do not need additional compensation.
How To Handle Your Injury Case
You are better off not saying anything. Don't give updates specific to the case, and do not post photos or videos of yourself until the case is finished. You do not want anything to potentially jeopardize your compensation because you wanted to share a moment with friends and family members. While it can be difficult to break your social media habits, not doing so could end up costing you a lot of money from your total compensation.
Discuss further with your personal injury attorney about how to handle your situation online.
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