Most of us enjoy the diversion of social media – catching up with friends on Facebook, uploading videos to YouTube or photos to Instagram. Even writing restaurant reviews on Yelp can be an enjoyable hobby.
When you are pursuing an accident claim, however, posting to social media can create big problems.
In cases we have in litigation, we are seeing discovery requests for social media passwords and images. Insurance companies use sophisticated software to find your name anywhere on the Internet.
If the insurance company or their lawyer finds images of you performing activities inconsistent with your claimed injury, you can be sure that opposing counsel will use that evidence in settlement negotiations or before a jury.
Shut Down All Social Media Until Your Case is Over
Our advice to our personal injury clients is to discontinue all social media activity. Put your profiles on private (or delete them) and avoid posting comments, pictures or anything else. Nothing good can happen with a post-accident post, but plenty of bad stuff can and will happen.