Can Social Media Affect Your Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Posting about your injury claim on social media can do more harm than good. Although most people think that social media rarely impacts their day-to-day lives, this is far from true when it comes to injury claim cases. Because the content you post onto social media can always influence your injury claim, you should take precautions when getting online. But why exactly is social media a big deal when it comes to injury claims? How can the content you post onto a website or app cause you to lose compensation for your severe injury? The following are ways that social media can impact your case and ways you can protect yourself while using social media platforms.

Your Post Are Never Private

Social media is an open platform for anybody to use. Generally speaking, the most popular websites and apps you use are accessible by anyone. For this reason, you should always be careful when posting anything related to your case online.  The content you post is permanent, and there's no way for you to permanently remove anything you post once public. For example, if you post any easily abusable content, such as statements, insurance companies can use your post against your injury claim. They may even still be able to access it once you think you’ve removed it.

Social Media Can Alter Your Image

Although many people use social media as a means to form alternate identities, the courtroom will not make a distinction for you. What this means is that if you post offensive content (even under the guise of a joke or sarcasm), the other party will not hesitate to use your content against you.  Because you're appearing as a victim in the eyes of the courtroom, ruining that image on social media could negatively impact the amount of compensation you receive for things such as emotional damages.  It's always best to either deactivate your social media account or only browse content while undergoing your injury claim. 

Consult an Injury Lawyer

Do you still have questions about the possible impact of social media on your injury claim? Reaching out to Craig Swapp & Associates can not only help you answer any lingering questions about social media but also lead you to receiving help when filing your injury claim.  Contact us at 1-800-404-9000 or visit our website for more information.