How Social Media May Hurt Your Personal Injury Settlement
If you think for one second that an insurance company you have a claim against isn’t browsing your public social media profiles – guess again! What are they looking for? Here are some social media mistakes to avoid that can hurt the value of your personal injury settlement.
What Social Media Posts an Insurance Company Hopes to See
When an insurance company is browsing your social media profiles, the goal is to find something they can use to force you to take a smaller settlement. Let’s look at a few hypothetical examples of how this might work.
- Evidence of a Faked Injury – If you are on crutches or wearing a neck brace in the courtroom but not in all of your social media pictures, opposing counsel may try to use this as evidence that your injury is being faked. Don’t think you can get away with it simply by making all of your accounts private. A judge may require that you turn your account names and passwords over to the insurance company as evidence.
- Evidence of a Less Severe Injury – You may claim that your injury is keeping you from being able to work, but what if you have pictures out partying, playing sports, or enjoying a vacation that flies in the face of how injured you claim to be? It will be tough to explain to a judge that you were able to play ball for an hour just because you were feeling good on that one particular day. It’s better to sit out until the case is settled, and certainly don’t post pics if you do anything that might make you seem healthier than you are.
Avoiding Damaging Social Media Mistakes During a Personal Injury Case
If you have suffered a personal injury, seek the assistance of the attorneys at Petrov Law Firm. We can help you to avoid making critical errors that might get your claim denied or a settlement cut. To maximize your claim and receive the monetary damages you deserve, call 619-344-0360 right away.
