How Social Media Can Affect Your Personal Injury Case: Dos and Don’ts

We’ve spent decades using social media sites to share every little thing that happens in our lives. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that until it comes to your personal injury case. Sharing details about your injury or the case itself can have serious consequences in the real world. Here are the dos and don’ts of social media use if you’ve been injured.

The Don’ts

• Don’t discuss your injuries or your accident. 
• Don’t post photos or videos related to your injury or the accident.
• Don’t discuss proceedings in the case.
• Don’t accept any new friends until your case is settled.
• Don’t post about any physical activities you’ve engaged in or events you’ve attended.
• Don’t check into locations if you leave your home.

The Dos

• Do double-check your privacy settings.
• Do use caution when interacting with anything your friends might post, particularly when it comes to sharing information about your activities.
• Do understand that anything you post online can ultimately be seen by anyone, no matter what your privacy settings might be.
• Do realize that the other party’s attorneys will use every trick possible to discredit your case, including digging through social media posts.
• Do stay in touch with your attorney, but do so off of social media (email, phone, and in-person communication).

Why the Secrecy?

Why do you need to watch what you do on social media? If you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault and are suing the other party for damages, anything you post online may be used to discredit your claims. 

For instance, let’s say a friend has a birthday party at a local state park known for its kayaking. You go but do nothing other than sit at a picnic table the entire time. However, you post a picture of yourself with the park’s sign, which includes a depiction of a kayaker on a river. That single image could be used as evidence that not only are you not injured, but you feel well enough to go kayaking.

This is just one example of how an innocent social media post could be used to derail your entire case. The best option is to limit your use of these sites until after your case wraps up. Your attorney should give you explicit instructions. Make sure to follow them.

And if you’ve been injured in an accident that was not your fault, make sure you have experienced legal representation. Contact Grewer Law to discuss your case today.