If you have suffered injuries in an accident due to the negligence of another person or entity, do not post on social media. Posting on your social media platforms may hurt your ability to recover compensation for damages in your personal injury claim. How? San Jose personal injury lawyer Braid Pezzaglia explains below.
Insurance Companies Want to Minimize Their Payout
If you have filed a personal injury claim, you are seeking compensation for economic and non-economic damages, such as:
- Medical costs
- Lost wages
- Loss of future earning potential
- Pain and suffering
When you seek damages for injuries caused by another party or entity’s negligence, that defendant’s attorneys and insurance company are going to do everything in their power to limit the defense’s liability and how much his or her insurance company has to pay you. This means that the defense will examine everything it can about your life, including your social media profiles. Even if you think your profiles are private, social media information is publicly accessible.
How Can Social Media Hurt Your Personal Injury Claim?
Social media is an easy and convenient way to stay in touch with and update your friends and family about your life. However, you should not use social media at all if you have filed or plan to file a personal injury claim.
At first, it may seem harmless to update your family and friends online about your accident or injury. However, the defense can take anything you say and misconstrue it to benefit them. Even social media updates that seem to have no relationship to your case could hurt it. First, your posts could contradict your testimony. Second, your posts could show that your damages are not as extensive as you claim.
It is possible that you could post a status update on social media that contradicts your claims in your personal injury case. For example, if you claim leg injuries, but then you check-in online at your local trail or 5K, the defense may challenge the severity of your injuries. In this example, you did not post anything seemingly related to your case. However, the defense can and will take advantage of those opportunities.
Types of posts that could hurt your claim include:
- Status updates
- Photos
- Videos
- Check-ins
- Tagged posts
- Posts from family and/or friends
All of the types of posts listed above could inadvertently show the defense that your damages are not as bad as you are claiming in your personal injury case. Another unintentional example may include a picture of you out with your friends smiling. If you have claimed emotional distress or pain and suffering, the liable party could claim that you do not seem as distressed as you claim.
Injured in an Accident in San Jose or Santa Clara County? Call Now
If you or a loved one have suffered damages in an accident in San Jose or Santa Clara County, consider scheduling a free consultation with our personal injury lawyer. During a free initial consultation, Braid can answer legal questions you may have, and help you to understand your best legal options. Call today at (408) 650-8955 or fill out our online contact form to get started.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)