The digital world we live in is heavily influenced by social media, whether we like it or not. Following an auto accident, it may be tempting to post about the accident online to spread the word to friends and family that you are safe. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that if you plan to pursue compensation for your injuries through a personal injury claim, that social media can have lasting negative impacts on your case.
Yes, Insurance Adjusters are on Social Media
Let’s say you post a picture of you and your friends laughing on Facebook shortly after your accident. While it’s obvious, to you and your friends, that you merely captured a moment of laughter, an insurance adjuster can take that same picture and claim that you clearly aren’t as injured as you may have stated. They can then argue that if you’re out enjoying life, you are clearly fully recovered from the accident and need no additional compensation moving forward.
Social Media Can Benefit Your Claim
The more credible you are as an individual, the stronger your injury claim is. The good news is that social media can be a great tool to showcase these traits to the insurance company and judge.
Illustrate Passion
Showing how much you care about your loved ones, friends, and hobbies can be a great way to demonstrate your character. If you’re sad that you can’t make your best friend’s wedding rehearsal or your nephew’s soccer game because of your physical therapy or doctor’s appointment, post about it. However, be sure not to include old photographs or videos that can be used against you.
Convey Your Strong Work Ethic
If your injury requires countless hours of rehabilitation and therapy, don’t be embarrassed to speak about it! Sharing your success can be a great way to document your story, recovery, and impeccable work ethic for the judge and insurance adjusters to see. Be sure to document the bad days as well, as they tell just as an important piece of the story.
Social Media Can Also Seriously Hurt Your Claim
While social media can be beneficial in certain situations, we still strongly advise you to stay off of social media completely while you are pursuing compensation for your injuries. While this is a difficult request, it can help strengthen your case immensely.
Social Media Includes More than Just Facebook
While Facebook is by far the most popular social media platform, it’s not the only one. With so many social media platforms to keep track of (Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, etc.), it’s important to remember that the same rules apply; what you post can be used against you.
Be Wary of New Friend Requests
Insurance adjusters will often hire private investigators to keep watch on you. The most common way this is done is through social media monitoring.
Now, you may be thinking,
“My profile is private; they can’t see what I’m posting.”
However, private investigators will often circumvent this by adding you through a fake account. This “fake account” will often use an image found online, which is meant to trick you into accepting the request. They may even go as far as making an account claiming to be someone you know.
You can never be sure who is adding you, especially while pursuing compensation. To avoid any problems with your claim, hold off on accepting new friend requests until your injury claim finalizes.
Three Questions to Ask Yourself
In order to protect your chances of pursuing compensation following your accident, remember to ask yourself these three questions before posting something on social media:
Am I honest about my feelings and abilities in this post?
Is it possible that this post could give insurance adjusters the wrong idea about my well-being?
Could this post be used against me?
If you still have questions about social media and your accident, Meade Law Group can help. Our experienced Tennessee personal injury attorneys can discuss your situation over a free consultation and provide you with a plan to pursue the compensation you deserve.
Call us today (423) 464-7779 to schedule your free case evaluation.
