Social media has become intertwined with everything that we do nowadays such as sharing photos, communicating with loved ones, working, and even checking in to places and sharing our locations. Although these seem like harmless things to do, they can actually hurt your personal injury case. According to the experienced team of lawyers at Friedman Levy in New York City, if you have filed a lawsuit against the liable party after your construction accident, you should avoid posting about the incident on social media because:
Your posts are admissible
Although it does not seem fair, your posts can be used to invalidate or weaken your claim in court. Your defendant’s legal representatives will do anything they can to either reduce the settlement amount or avoid paying it completely by destroying your case. This will include going through your posts as well as those of your family members and friends to find recent pictures or statements that support their agenda.
You may mistakenly contradict your testimony
After being involved in an accident, you may have to give many statements to different people such as your employer and insurance companies about what happened. Therefore, it is important for all your testimonies and written statements to remain consistent and not contradict each other. For example, if you claim to have sustained severe back injuries, but still make posts about playing football, exercising at the gym or dancing at a club, you are contradicting the statement that you made.
Check-ins can hurt your case
You should avoid sharing your location and sharing your check-ins to various locations on the internet because it shows you are participating in different activities despite your claim of being injured. For example, if you file a claim that shows your injuries have affected your mobility, it will not be wise to share online that you’re visiting many different places every other day.
You may show the extent of your injuries
Your posts may show the defendant’s legal team what you are physically capable of doing after being involved in the accident. If the posts depict you as being in good health, it can diminish your prospects of getting compensation.
Interaction with family can be used to invalidate your claim
Even innocent comments and interactions with your family and friends can be used against you if they contradict your claims about how severe your injuries are. Furthermore, if someone you know comments about the money you’re expecting to receive as compensation in your personal injury lawsuit, it could negatively affect your claim.
What you should do instead
You should be careful about what you post or avoid posting at all. Moreover, you should advise your friends and family not to post pictures of you as well. Photos that show you are in good health will reduce your chances of getting paid monetary compensation.
You should also put all your accounts on private mode and be cautious about accepting new strangers who want to befriend you online while your case is ongoing. Moreover, even if your account is private, you should not have the false sense of security that everything you post is invisible because the internet is not really a private place. Thus, your posts may make it to the public eye and courts can use your posts as evidence.
Conclusion
You should not derail or delay your case by using the internet unwisely when you have a claim. Even the comments that you think are trivial may negatively affect your case. Therefore, when you avoid posting online, you will avoid being ambushed while being questioned at your deposition or trial about your posts on the internet. You should not let online applications ruin your chances of getting the full settlement amount.
