Your Social Posts Could Hurt Your Claim
| January 6th, 2020
Over 169.5 million people in the U.S., more than half the population, are Facebook users, and the odds are good that you’re one of them. Even if you’re not on Facebook, there’s a good chance you use another social media platform, such as Twitter or Instagram, to share your thoughts online. But if you post to your social media accounts after a car accident, slip and fall, or other type of injury, you could seriously hurt your chances of getting the compensation you need.
Insurance adjusters are always looking for ways to deny accident victims compensation, and one of the ways they do so is by trying to manipulate or misrepresent your social media posts to show your injury is not as serious as it truly is.
Your Status Updates
While you or I might post “I was in a car crash, but I am okay” to let friends and family know you survived, an insurance adjuster might point to a post like that and say it proves you were uninjured. The best way to avoid misunderstandings is to not talk about your injury or accident online at all.
Other examples of posts that could hurt your claim include:
- Accidental admissions of fault, such as “I didn’t have time to stop.”
- Apologies or expressions of guilt
- Statements about the crash or accident that contradict what you told the police, your insurance company, the other driver’s insurance company, or your lawyer
- Angry statements about the at-fault party or insurance company that could lead the judge or jury to believe you are filing a lawsuit as an act of revenge
- Posts that could cause the judge or jury to believe you contributed to your own crash
Your Photos
Anything you post online could be misinterpreted, and that includes your photos. For example, if your injuries prevent you from doing the types of activities you used to do, but your social media accounts show you up and about outside your home, the defense may try to argue that your injuries aren’t as severe as they really are.
They may even try to argue that if you look happy in photos you posted online after the accident, it means your injuries aren’t painful or that what you experienced wasn’t actually traumatic.
Your Friends and Family’s Posts
What your friends and family post about your accident and about you after your accident could also hurt your claim. For example, family members asking about what type of settlement you might get could be used to argue the claim is a money-grab, or friends making jokes about you being a “lead foot” or “scatterbrain” could be used by the defense to argue you caused your own accident.
What You Can Do to Reduce Your Risk
The best way to ensure that you don’t accidentally hurt your chances of getting the compensation you need with your social media is to not use social media at all until after your claim is resolved. However, these steps can help protect you if you do continue to post.
- Set all your social media accounts to private.
- If possible, adjust your settings to prevent other users from being able to share your posts or to post comments on your accounts.
- Do not accept any new friend requests, especially from people you don’t know, while your claim is ongoing.
- Speak privately with friends and family and request they do not post anything about you, or especially your accident, until your claim is resolved.
- Avoid mentioning your settlement even after your claim is resolved. If your settlement involves a confidentiality agreement, posting about it could result in your settlement being revoked.
Hurt in a Car Accident? Call Nurenberg Paris.
Sometimes it’s not enough to avoid talking about your accident online. Insurance companies make their money by reducing or denying settlements to victims, so they have extra motivation to try and do the same to you. You need an experienced lawyer on your side who knows what tricks they pull, and how to counter them.
The personal injury attorneys at Nurenberg Paris are the team you are looking for. If you or a loved one were injured in a car accident, come talk to us. We’ll review your case for free, and if you decide to hire us, you don’t pay us anything unless we win you money. Don’t fight against the insurance company alone; contact us today.