People underestimate just how far insurance companies will go to avoid paying out for an accident caused by their clients. A surprising amount of people who are seeking compensation after an accident post freely about it on social media, completely forgetting the fact that everything you put on social media is forever. A single careless social media post could devastate your personal injury claim.
Wondering how you can protect your personal injury claim and your right to seek compensation? Set up a consultation with Hodges Trial Lawyers by calling us at 256-826-4129.
Social Media is More Open Than You Think
You may feel like skipping this—you keep your social media private and locked down. Perhaps your profile is open, but you don’t use your real name, or you just use your initials. None of that matters.
Social media activity is incredibly easy to uncover, and privacy loopholes are easy to exploit. Have a friend that tags you in everything? An insurance adjuster just needs to get their fake account’s friend request accepted. There are entire websites dedicated to looking at private profiles and checking out their latest posts. Whether or not your social media is private, what you post can hurt you.
Let’s look at some of the posts that could derail your claim.
Posting About Physical Activity or Sports
Posting about any physical activity you’re engaged in could poke big holes in your injury claim. If you’re telling the insurance company that you’re too hurt to walk more than one hundred feet without a break, you don’t want to check in on the Nike Run app for a three-mile jog. Basically, any physical activity that contradicts what you have told the insurance company can be harmful to your claim.
Working Can Hurt Your Claim
If you are unable to work because of your accident, posting about being at work could throw up a red flag for the insurance adjuster. It doesn’t even matter if you’re not actually working—you should also avoid the appearance of anything fraudulent. You may be popping into the office to pick up your personal effects until you recover, but “checking in” at work on Facebook may make it look like you are back to work. Even stopping in to fill out paperwork for your time away could look suspicious to the insurance company.
Discussing Your Settlement is Another Issue
Ideally, you will keep everything related to your accident and injuries off of social media until the entire ordeal is over. As you go back and forth with the insurance company, remember that your Facebook friends do not need to know the details of negotiations. Their advice and jokes could make it look like you are taking advantage of the insurance company.
Avoid Deleting Posts, Even If They’re Damaging
Hopefully, you haven’t posted anything yet. If that’s the case, keep doing what you’re doing and just keep quiet about the accident until your attorney tells you it’s okay to talk about it publicly. If you have already posted something and you’re now worried that it looks bad, don’t go delete it.
The insurance company may have already found the post and saved it. If that’s the case, you deleting it will look incredibly suspicious. It may even be considered spoilation, or the destruction of evidence. Not only does this make your personal injury claim much weaker, but it could also get you into serious legal trouble.
How do you safeguard your personal injury claim as you fight for fair and full compensation? Talk to an attorney as soon as possible after getting checked out by a doctor. The sooner you talk to a lawyer, the sooner you find out what you can and cannot do. This is the best way to avoid unintentionally harming your case.
Talk to an Attorney at Hodges Trial Lawyers Today
The team at Hodges Trial Lawyers has in-depth experience with all types of personal injury claims, and we’re ready to use our knowledge to help you. Set up a consultation with our team so you can talk about your case and make a plan. Call us at 256-826-4129 or fill out our contact form to get started.
