Some Social Media Tips For Personal Injury Plaintiffs

Social media is popular among the young and old. According to Pew Research Center, seven out of ten Americans use social media. But while social media has a lot of benefits, it is wise to stay off it if you have a pending personal injury claim. Insurance companies are always looking for information they can use against claimants on social media. Social media can give the at-fault party’s insurance company a reason to devalue or deny your personal injury claim. Remember, as long as social media evidence is authentic, relevant, and properly retrieved; it is considered admissible.

However, because of the importance of social media, it may be hard for you to stay off your social media platforms. Fortunately, if staying off social media is impossible, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of jeopardizing your personal injury claim. The following are some of these steps:

Update Your Privacy Settings

The first step you can take to reduce the risk of jeopardizing your personal injury claim is to set your social media privacy settings to private. Indeed, this is not a foolproof way to hide your social media posts. However, setting your privacy settings to private will provide an extra hurdle for the insurance adjuster from the at-fault party’s insurance company trying to monitor your social media activity.

Review Everything Carefully Before Posting

It is advisable that you avoid posting anything on your social media while your personal injury case is pending. However, if you must remain active online, you can protect yourself by scrutinizing everything before posting. If there is a chance posting something could jeopardize your claim, do not post it. Remember, even seemingly innocent posts could negatively affect your personal injury claim.

It is also best that you avoid posting about the following;

• The accident
• Your injuries
• Your pending personal injury claim
• Your social life

Be Careful With “Check-ins”

If you are used to checking in to public places, it is best that you avoid doing so while your personal injury claim is pending. If you claim to have sustained a severe injury that limits your mobility, checking in to places could result in problematic and conflicting evidence. You most especially don’t want to check into a place like a gym if you claim to have suffered injuries that limit your mobility. However, even checking into other places like restaurants can also cause problems.

Avoid Posting Apologies or Regrets

After an accident, it is crucial that you avoid admitting fault, as you may not know all the facts surrounding your accident until the investigation is completed. This applies even to social media posts. Avoid using the statement, “It was my fault.” Even a statement like “I wrecked my vehicle” or “I am sorry” can be taken as an admission of guilt. So, avoid such statements.

Ensure Your Friends and Family Members Don’t Make Social Media Mistakes

Apart from doing the above, it is vital that you also ask your friends and family members to avoid mentioning or tagging you in posts. Remember, if the insurance adjuster cannot find anything to use against you on your profiles, they may go looking at the profiles of those closest to you.

Contact Us for Legal Help

If you suffered an injury because of another party’s negligence, turn to our Orlando personal injury attorneys at The Pendas Law Firm to learn how best to proceed.

The Pendas Law Firm also represents clients in the Miami, Ocala, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Bradenton, Naples, Melbourne, Fort Myers, and Fort Lauderdale areas.

Source:

pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/#:~:text=TABLE%20OF%20CONTENTS-,Today%20around%20seven%2Din%2Dten%20Americans%20use%20social%20media,-to%20connect%20with