Whenever you’re involved in a personal injury case after suffering injury in an accident, the opposing party and their lawyers will undoubtedly be looking at your activities on the different social media platforms. Even while both parties are in negotiations before you file your lawsuit, the opposing party will be searching for information about you in social media platforms that they can use against you. For instance:
• Do you have a criminal background?
• Do you have a history of suing others?
• Have you been sharing photos or videos of your active lifestyle despite having filed for income replacement benefits?
• Have you made negative comments about the defendant on social media platforms?
• Have you posted comments about your emotional and mental state even though you’ve shared photos of yourself having a good time with family members and friends?
• Have you shared your personal injury attorney’s strategy regarding your case?
Any of the examples above can be detrimental to your personal injury lawsuit. Worst case scenario is that you may inadvertently over-share certain information and reveal your attorney’s strategy to the opposing party’s lawyers.
Furthermore, media and personal information shared on social media platforms could easily be taken out of context or misconstrued and be used against you (the plaintiff). Basically, the defendant’s legal team could use such information to assert that you’re lying about the extent and severity of your injuries for the purpose of financial gain.
Consequently, it’s incredibly important for you to exercise caution and restraint when you’re sharing information on the different social media platforms – even if you’re uncertain about filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit. For individuals that are active social media users, not being able to share personal updates, photos, or videos can be very difficult. That being said, if you absolutely must continue posting on social media after being involved in an accident, be mindful of how this could hurt your case.
Take a moment to think about what you’re going to post on social media and how it could adversely affect your personal injury claim or lawsuit. Best practices on social media include:
• removing people off your contact or friend’s lists if you don’t have personal relationships with them
• thinking about what you’re going to share before posting something that could adversely affect your claim or lawsuit.
• updating privacy settings
To learn more about the impact of social media on your case, speak with a personal injury lawyer in Edmonton as soon as possible. It is best to get professional consultation than trying to settle the damages on your own as you’d be pressurized into accepting a low and unfair settlement amount than what you actually deserve.