Not that long ago, insurers would hire private investigators to record personal injury claimants performing everyday activities, hoping to catch them doing something that could be used to contradict their claim. Today, insurers don’t need to follow you around with a camera; they just need to search your social media profiles.

Insurers and defense attorneys routinely review social media profiles for evidence to suggest that your injuries are not as severe as you claim. Within minutes, they can find months’ worth of information that can be shown to a jury to dispute the nature and extent of your injuries and drastically reduce the value of your claim.

The way insurers and defense attorneys present this information might ignore context and the truth, but, unfortunately, it works. Defense attorneys are able to influence the jury by casting doubt on your credibility, all through using posts that you made.

How Insurers Use Social Media Against You

When an accident causes personal injuries, insurance companies and defense attorneys will review your online presence looking for evidence they can use to deny your claim or reduce the payout. A single photograph or caption can be enough to question the nature and extent of injuries and reduce your compensation for damages.

Insurers typically start with social media posts that are public, but they will also investigate private posts and posts in which someone else tagged you. During the legal discovery process, defense attorneys can ask the court to grant them access to your social media post history. This means any information you share online can be obtained in discovery and used against you in court.

Social Media and Personal Injury Claims

Credibility is key to obtaining a successful result in a personal injury claim. A social media post that shows you engaging in activities that conflict with your reported limitations can be used to show you are exaggerating your symptoms. Defense attorneys can use this evidence to impeach testimony, claim comparative fault, and argue for a lower settlement or verdict.

Taking Social Media Posts Out of Context

Social media content shows a moment in time, which is not a full picture of your medical condition. Nonetheless, insurers and defense attorneys use a single image or a short video and claim it is representative of your overall physical capacity, ignoring how injuries heal and how pain can fluctuate. A brief outing, attending a family event, or even smiling in a photo can be used to present a misleading impression that does not align with the reality of your recovery.

Once insurers have photos, captions, dates, and geotags, they pull this information together to create a timeline they can use to claim you were in a location or performing an activity in a manner or at a time that was inconsistent with your claims about your injuries and recovery.

Protect Yourself on Social Media

As a general rule, do not discuss the accident or your injuries with anyone other than your attorney. Ask family and friends to avoid discussing your situation and to avoid posting about it on social media. You should also ask them not to include you in any of their posts until your claim has been resolved.

Tighten Your Privacy Settings

No matter how strict your privacy settings, know that your online content is not private and can be used against you. Even if you are selective about what you share on social media, you should still tighten your security settings, restrict tagging, disable past-activity visibility, and turn off geotagging and location history.

Do not accept requests to connect from people you don’t know, and remove followers you do not recognize.

What To Do If You Already Posted on Social Media

If you already posted online about the accident, your injuries, or your personal injury claim, you may be tempted to delete this information.

Don’t.

Even after a post is deleted, an archival version can still be retrieved, and insurers and defense attorneys may use your attempt to delete the post to try to make it look like you have something to hide. You could also face legal allegations for the destruction of evidence.

If you already posted and are considering deleting it, speak with your attorney first. Your lawyer can advise on how to handle the post, rather than deleting the post.

Contact Robenalt Law Today

If you were hurt in an accident, the personal injury attorneys at Robenalt Law can help. With offices in Cleveland and Columbus, we handle personal injury claims throughout Ohio and nationwide. Call our Cleveland office at (216) 223-7535 or our Columbus office at (614) 695-3800 or contact us online to schedule a free, confidential, no-obligation appointment to discuss your situation and how we can help.