Dealing with the aftermath of a car accident might just be one of the most difficult and complicated things that you ever face. Walking through the legal process for the first time might be a frightening prospect, as you might be working with insurance adjusters, judges, and more if negotiations don’t work and you end up in court. Social media is one aspect that can have an impact on your personal injury case and your right to recovery.
How Social Media Negatively Affects Injury Claims
Social media can be hard to stay away from at times, but most attorneys will advise you to keep any aspect of your case away from its grips. Many cases are jeopardized by social media every year, in fact. You might believe that anything that you post on your social media is going to be kept private but, unfortunately, this is not the case. Anything that you put online can be shared by others or found by those who are not connected to your account in any way. Anyone who is subjected to a claim will be looking for information that they might be able to use against you in the midst of your claim, which is why it is imperative to keep this information off social media.
Insurance companies, especially, will attempt to comb through all of your online social media so that they can find records that they might be able to use against you. For instance, what if you claim that you have sustained a horrific back injury and now you are seeking compensation through the court? However, when an insurance adjuster goes online to your social media, they find a recent picture of you skiing and being active on vacation. They might say that your back pain and related problems are not as serious as you claim, as you were being entirely active.
Anything you post could be brought up in court and used against you. The frightening aspect of all this is that insurance companies and attorneys are within their full rights to take anything they find on your social media and use it against you. This could limit your compensation and make it difficult to move forward.
Protecting Yourself
There are some ways that you can protect yourself in the midst of your claim if you are somebody who avidly frequents social media. Here are just a few tips and tricks to remember:
- Make sure all social media is set to private and limit access to your account as much as you can so that those on the outside might not be able to see it.
- Ask friends and family to refrain from posting anything online about your case that might possibly incriminate you in the future.
- Think carefully about every single thing that you post on your social media accounts.
Seeking the Help of an Attorney
You might believe that you have a reasonable expectation of privacy on your social media; however, time and time again, this theory is brought up to the courts, who say that sharing content with others negates your right to that privacy as social media stands for sharing information with others. Working with a personal injury attorney is your best bet for retaining your rights and facing the court system so that you can gain maximum compensation in your case.
Our attorneys at Katz Kantor Stonestreet & Buckner have handled a variety of personal injury claims across the state of West Virginia and are willing to take a closer look at yours to help you defend your rights and obtain the compensation you deserve. Our car accident attorneys have handled many similar cases in the past and are willing to put up a fight for you. Please contact us for more information at (304) 713-2014.