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After being involved in a motor vehicle accident, it's tempting to post about it on Instagram or another social media account. However, it's essential to note that anything you post on social media after a car accident can be used against you in a personal injury lawsuit or deny your insurance claim.
When you hire a personal injury attorney with Marks Law Group, you’re hiring a legal team of investigators, nurses, and access an entire network of legal experts that'll help you through your recovery journey. What you might not know is that the insurance companies you’re going up against also have these in-house legal and medical experts. Their team of car accident lawyers and insurance adjusters will immediately start working to discredit your personal injury claim. And one way they do this is through monitoring your social media posts.
Research shows that 82% of the population in the U.S. has a social media profile. So, it’s fair to assume that most personal injury clients have at least one social media profile. But car accident victims need to understand that regardless of how harmless it may seem, anything you post on your social media accounts can be used against you in a personal injury lawsuit.
After a traumatic motor vehicle accident, it’s natural to want to reach out to friends and family members for support, and nowadays it’s common for people to do this via social media sites, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Unfortunately, when you use social media after a car crash, you might set a trap for yourself. The information you post on your Facebook or Instagram profile or other social media accounts could damage or even destroy your car accident case if you decide to file an injury claim and seek financial compensation for your medical expenses, property damage, lost income, pain and suffering, and other financial losses.
To understand how your social media activity can hurt your legal case after a motor vehicle wreck, we’ve put together a list of the common dangers of posting on social media after a motor vehicle crash, this includes how defense attorneys in your case can use your social media posts, pictures, and comments from your social accounts against you.
People say all kinds of things in the devastating moments after a car crash, and they have a tendency to want to apologize, even when the accident wasn’t their fault. Sadly, these statements can harm your personal injury case, especially when social media preserves these statements for the defense team to review and use against you.
The auto accident attorneys hired by the insurance company for the at-fault driver will go through everything you say about the accident online and look for any information they can use against you. Even brief comments that seem innocent, such as "I couldn't stop the car" or “I never saw them coming” can give the defense team something to work with as they try to argue that you were partially responsible for the accident.
In Georgia, the defense lawyers for the at-fault party and their insurance company can reduce the financial compensation you're entitled to using contributory negligence laws in Georgia. This contributory negligence statute stipulates that in legal action against a party for a personal injury where the plaintiff is partially liable for the physical injury, the judge will determine the plaintiff’s percentage of fault. Then, the court will reduce the amount the plaintiff is awarded in proportion to the plaintiff’s percentage of fault.
When you talk with your car accident lawyer about your injury case, you have complete confidentiality. However, the details of your car accident case only remain confidential if you only share them with your accident attorney and no one else.
When you post information about your car crash and subsequent recovery on social media accounts, that information becomes public statements. This includes social media content about things, such as:
Any confidentiality protection that would have hindered the defense team from knowing about this information goes out the window.
Recovery from an auto accident can be a long and challenging process, and every car accident victim deserves bright moments during that journey. Having a night out with friends, for instance, maybe the type of activity that lifts the burden of recovery and injuries long enough to keep you going.
However, for the defense team their lawyers, any moment of celebration or joy that you share on social media is ammunition they can use to deny your personal injury claim or claim that you're exaggerating your injuries.
It doesn’t matter that your status update, photo, or video doesn’t tell the full story — maybe you were fighting through pain the whole time and barely left the house. Still, you can expect the defense attorneys from the at-fault driver to jump on anything they find in your social media feed and use it as much as they can to refute your insurance claim.
So, you didn’t post any photos or comments about the accident. You didn’t post any videos or pictures of yourself at a barbecue or birthday party with friends. However, that doesn't mean you're on the clear. The insurance adjuster could still attempt to use your overall activity on social media as evidence that you’re exaggerating your bodily injuries. If you’re commenting and posting constantly on your social media platform and you seem a little too "normal" or upbeat in your social media activities, the defense team might claim that you haven’t experienced as much physical and emotional distress as you say.
This may seem completely ridiculous to the average person, but what is an injured and recovering car accident victim supposed to do besides use their laptop or phone and keep up with family and friends on social media? Still, it’s something you must be ready for because the defense team will pounce at anythingthey can find to undermine your personal injury claim.
Even if you have to take an extra pain reliever, to make it through a party or an event, posting a photo as innocent as a photo of you at your son’s baseball game, or even having dinner with friends can suggest that your bodily injuries aren’t as serious as you might claim.
At Marks Law Group, we understand that the time after a serious car crash is often stressful and confusing. If you or a loved one have sustained bodily injuries because of another person's negligence, our experienced car accident attorneys are here to help. When you choose our auto accident lawyers to represent you, we’ll act as your advocate and use our extensive experience and resources to fight fiercely for you until your car accident case reaches a resolution.
Call our personal injury law firm today at (678) 251-9309 or fill out the contact form on our website to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our skilled personal injury attorneys. We’ll use this time to get to know you, learn about your personal injury case, and advise you about your legal options so you can move forward with confidence.
