With summer around the corner, we are all looking forward to summer vacations. If you are like most people, you share the highlights of your life and your vacations with friends and family on social media. But if you are currently involved in an injury claim or lawsuit, sharing on social media can work against you.
Insurance Companies and Lawyers Make Use of Your Social Media
Unfortunately, in an effort to discredit you or your claim, your social media can be collected by insurance companies or defense lawyers as evidence against you. Insurance companies and defense lawyers make a standard practice of sifting through a claimant’s social media sites in order to find any evidence they can use against you. Although you may feel that you are protected by your privacy settings on social media, several courts have taken the position that even items hidden behind privacy settings can be produced for the purposes of personal injury litigation.
Don’t Delete or Hide Existing Posts
Even those posts not generated by you but show images of tagged photos can be used. If friends and family have tagged you and it shows you engaging in activities that are inconsistent with your injury claims, these can be used as evidence against you. Closing down an account or removing photos and posts can even result in spoilation of evidence which can carry monetary sanctions and derail your injury claim. This can also affect a lawyer who may suggest that you clean up any social media in order to destroy evidence that may be harmful to the claim or suit.
Don’t Do These Things
If you are involved in an injury claim, Edmonton injury lawyers suggest the following:
Do not post comments about your accident.
Do not post comments about any injuries sustained in the accident.
Do not post photos or videos of injuries or damages from the accident.
Do not post activities that you are engaging in after the accident such as going to sports games or attending parties.
Do not tag yourself in photos that others have posted of you.
Do not accept invitations through social media platforms.
Once something is posted that is contradictory to your claim or suit, the court can grant discovery for your Facebook account and everything that you have ever posted there will be viewed by the defense. Things that you believe are completely irrelevant to your claim may end up harming it.
The Best Way to Go Forward
With this knowledge, the best way to handle social media after you have been injured in an accident is to set your accounts to private. Make sure that you don’t add any new friends unless you know and trust them. And for the safest results, discontinue posting entirely until your claim or case is resolved.
Get Legal Advice
If you have been injured in an accident, call the experienced Edmonton personal injury lawyers at BPCAB Personal Injury Lawyer. Throughout our careers, we have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients after an injury. Call us today for a no-cost consultation to see how we can represent your legal rights after an accident.