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When pursuing a personal injury case, it is important to realize that your character and trustworthiness, as much as the merits of the case, will be on trial. How you conduct yourself on social media, and even how you use social media, can be used to cast doubt on the merits of your case. Here is a quick overview of how three different elements of your online social media life can be used by the defense to damage your personal injury case.
#1 Time Spent
When it comes to your online activity, it is not just about what you do, but how much time you spend online. For example, if you post continuously throughout the day, the defense could use that as evidence that you are feeling well. Or if you are not able to work an office-desk type job but are posting and active on social media all day, the defense could use your activity to show that you could be working your office-desk type job and are just choosing not to in order to get compensation for lost wages.
#2 Friends & Associates
Second, whom you are "friends" with on social media can hurt you. You could choose to stay off of social media while dealing with your case, but if you don't shut down your account, friends and associates can still post things about you and to you on your social media account.
For example, a friend could share a picture of you getting smashed at a party during the time you were injured, which could be used to paint a picture of someone who is doing a lot better than they say they are. Or a friend could share how great it was to see you at a specific event. Really anything that is shared, however innocent it seems, could be used to downgrade your injuries and your claim, which could hurt your settlement.
#3 Words & Images
Finally, your own words and images can create a powerful trail of evidence that can be built up against you, especially if you frequently post online. Your online posts can be used to show that you took actions leading up to the event in question that made you responsible for what happened and not the defending party. Your posts could be used to show that you didn't follow the doctor's direction and made your condition worse or they could be used to show that you are able to work based on the things that you are doing, sharing, and posting about.
Talk with a lawyer from a firm like James Munafo & Associates PC if you have questions about your personal injury case.
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