Your Social Media Post Can Hurt Your Personal Injury Lawsuit

With over 1.5 billion users on Facebook, 400 million viewers on Instagram, and 320 million people on Twitter, it’s safe to say that social media is a way of life for many people.

While you may be tempted to post every detail about your day on the Internet, it may not always be in your best interest to do so. This is especially true if you’ve been in a car accident and are going through a personal injury lawsuit.

Sharing details about a recent auto accident or posting any discriminating pictures in the ensuing days can really hurt your accident claim outcome. At J. Gonzalez Injury Attorneys, we work diligently to ensure the best outcome for those we are fortunate enough to represent. That’s why we want to offer you some tips on how to avoid being a victim to your own social media activities.

Defense attorneys and insurance companies can use your social media posts against you, with even the most innocent of pictures or words becoming a topic of discussion during your case.

Do You Really Need to Post?

It is the job of the defense attorney and insurance investigator to find holes in your story. Even a simple update can be skewed to make it seem as if you are the at-fault party. You’ll want to avoid posting details about the accident or any injuries that you received directly as a result of the car crash. Posting any information about the incident that suggests you were being negligent, distracted, inattentive, or drunk while the accident took place, can severely weaken your case.

While Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the primary sources of online profiles, you’ll want to completely avoid mentioning anything on any platform including LinkedIn, Flickr, Tumblr, or even commenting and blogging. Filing a car accident lawsuit in which you claim personal injury, but then posting a picture of yourself at the gym is going to damage to your argument. Posting any verbiage that suggest disregard for the law or safety will also prove to be detrimental to your case.

Protect Yourself: Tips for Safe Social Media Activity

In reality, the best thing you can do is simply avoid using any social media throughout the duration of your case. Placing yourself in a position where you can air out grievances isn’t the best idea at this point. Plus, friends and families may ask you about the situation and you may be tempted to discuss the accident, your injuries, or the case itself, which can jeopardize your chance of getting compensation.

While you should avoid using social media, if you decide to maintain your profiles, then consider the following tips for protecting yourself:

• Check your security settings to ensure you have the most privacy available. While this doesn’t mean 100% legal protection against defense lawyers, it will limit who can see your information.
• Make any posts brief and factual.
• Don’t post photos or videos and ask your friends and family to avoid tagging you at any events, locations, or in any pictures.
• Do not talk about the case or make any frustrated comments.
• Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know.
• Look over ALL your online profiles and remove content that can be misconstrued.
• Do not post about the other parties involved in the case.
• Google yourself as a precaution. Do an image and web search for your name (in quotes) and see what you find. Try to get anything bad removed.
• Stay away from chat rooms, message boards, and blogs.
• If you post something you think might be misinterpreted, don’t delete it, just make it private and then tell your lawyer about it.

Your team at J. Gonzalez Injury Attorneys reminds you to be smart about your social media use.

If you’ve been involved in a car accident, you need the right team to help guide you through to a successful outcome. Our experienced personal injury attorneys at J. Gonzalez Injury Attorneys fight hard to effectively represent clients. Contact us today at (956) 630-6700 for a free case evaluation.