Why You Should Stay Off Social Media After a Car Accident
Insurance Companies Can Use Your Posts in Court
Whether you hire an accident attorney in Atlanta or elsewhere in the United States, most lawyers will advise their clients to limit posting on social media or any online platform. You might be 100% honest in your claim, especially regarding your damages, but online posts might tell a different story.Whether you make public or private posts, insurance companies might be able to access your posts and use them against you. After all, social media posts are considered public information. This means the other party’s insurance company can subpoena them and use them against you.
Insurance companies can even use seemingly innocent posts to try to pull your story apart. For example, if your car accident resulted in back pain, an insurance company might use pictures of you rock climbing to claim that your injuries have healed or never existed.
Insurance Companies Can Look for Story Inconsistencies
The story you tell your lawyer might be entirely accurate and truthful, right down to the injuries you sustained and where you sustained them. However, it’s easy for social media posts to make it look like you are being dishonest.Insurance companies might find a picture of you engaging in a particular activity and use it to make the courts believe your quality of life hasn’t been affected. If you’ve been seen using a body part you claim was injured, they might use that picture to say you were never injured in the first place. Perception can count for a lot, regardless of whether you’ve been entirely truthful.
Staying off social media after a car accident can be challenging when you want your loved ones to know you’re okay. However, your success in a personal injury case may just depend on it.
What to Do If You Can’t Stay Off Social Media
If you use social media as part of your business or to stay in touch with loved ones, going offline might not be an option. In that case, there are actions you can take to reduce the risk of insurance companies using your online presence as evidence.Communicate Via Private Message
If you want friends and family members to know the details of your accident, communicate with them via private message. That way, everyone important to you can learn how you’re doing, but the information isn’t in the public arena.Don’t Accept New Friend Requests
You might think that changing your privacy settings is an adequate form of protection, but it often isn’t. Insurance companies can go to great lengths to access your posts, including sending friend requests. Don’t accept any new friend requests until your case reaches a successful conclusion.Don’t Post About Your Life
Generic posts are typically okay, but refrain from posting about your accident or social activities. Even posting about your mood or what you’ve been doing might be used against you.Staying off social media after a car accident can be challenging when you want your loved ones to know you’re okay. However, your success in a personal injury case may just depend on it.
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Posted - 08/02/2023
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