Social Media During an Injury Case

Assume the insurer is looking

Insurers and defense lawyers routinely search an injured person’s social media. They are not looking for the truth about how you feel. They are looking for anything that can be made to look like you are not really hurt.

They often find it, because social media is a highlight reel. Nobody posts the day they could not get out of bed. People post the one good afternoon.

How posts get used

• A smiling photo at a birthday party becomes “the plaintiff was enjoying herself three weeks after the crash.”
• A check-in at the gym, even if you went to do your physical therapy exercises, becomes “the plaintiff was working out.”
• An old photo posted on an anniversary, from before the crash, gets presented as if it were recent.
• A post saying “I’m doing better”, written to reassure your family, becomes an admission that you recovered.
• A joke about the crash, or a comment about the other driver, gets read to a jury.
• Photos your friends tag you in count too, and you do not control them.

What to do

• Stop posting about the crash, your injuries, your case and your activities until the case is over. The simplest rule is to post nothing at all.
• Set every account to private. It is not a guarantee, since private content can still be obtained in a lawsuit, but it stops casual searching.
• Ask friends and family not to tag you or post photos of you.
• Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know.
• Do not discuss the case in messages. Messages can be obtained too.
• Tell your lawyer about anything already posted that could be misread. It is far better to explain it early than to have it sprung on you at a deposition.

Do not delete anything

This is the one people get wrong. Deleting posts, photos or accounts after an injury, once a claim is coming, can be treated as destroying evidence. Courts call it spoliation, and it can do far more damage to a case than the post itself would have. Stop posting, make your accounts private, and leave what is already there alone until you have talked to your lawyer.

Talk to Boyd

If you are not sure what is on your accounts, or something has already been posted, call. The consultation is free, and Boyd takes the call himself: (714) 656-2400.