How Social Media Can Influence Your Personal Injury Case

Social media accomplishes a lot of good. It can help you connect with friends and family around the world, find people with common interests, and even discover charitable causes you care about. However, one thing it can’t do is help with your personal injury case. 

If you’re currently involved in a personal injury case — or even if you’re just considering one — posting about your injury or your case on social media can do serious harm. Here’s a closer look at how it can put your case in jeopardy. 

Comments and Posts Might Be Interpreted as Admissions of Fault

Whether you have just been involved in a car accident or you are pursuing a personal injury case, insurance companies will latch onto anything you say that could possibly be interpreted as a statement of fault.  

For instance, you may have heard that you should never say “sorry” after a car accident. This is good advice — even a comment that doesn’t directly admit fault can be used against you in a personal injury case. 

Social media posts can be used in a similar way. If your case goes to trial, the other side’s lawyer will be able to show the judge or jury any posts that make you look guilty. For example, if you post about an accident and say something like “I wasn’t paying attention” or “I feel bad about it,” those statements can be used to make you look guilty. 

Some avid social media users might insist on posting about the accident, believing they know how to avoid saying anything potentially incriminating. This is not a wise approach. You can’t always predict what an insurer will try to use against you, and in a personal injury case, it’s much better to be safe than sorry. 

Your Posts Might Contradict Your Claims

To have a successful personal injury claim, you don’t only have to show that the other party was responsible. You also must show that your injuries are serious enough to have a major effect on your everyday life. 

Even if your legal team provides ample evidence of the severity of your injury, the opposing attorneys will certainly scrutinize your social media pages, looking for anything that suggests your injuries aren’t as severe as you claim.  

For example, if you claim you have a shoulder injury that won’t let you raise your arms above your head and then post a picture of yourself shooting a basketball, the opposing attorney could easily argue that you’re not being honest about the extent of your injuries. 

It May Make You Look Less Credible

Many people are concerned about their online reputations. In some cases, they have even managed to keep their online personas and their real-world selves almost entirely separate.  

However, in a personal injury case, you should never count on those personas remaining separate. Social media posts — even those having nothing to do with your injury — can be used to make you appear less credible to a judge or jury. 

This phenomenon isn’t unique to personal injury cases. In criminal trials, attorneys know that if they can make witnesses appear less credible, juries are less likely to take what they say seriously. Likewise, if prosecutors can show information that biases the jury against the defendant, they may be more likely to secure a conviction. 

There are many different kinds of social media posts that the other side can use to make you look untrustworthy. These are a few examples: 

• Suggestions of excessive alcohol use or use of illegal drugs
• Generally reckless behavior
• Angry rants
• Any kind of post suggesting deceptive behavior
• Suggestive content
• Excessive profanity

There’s no telling what the other side may try to use against you, and even innocent posts may be taken completely out of context. As a result, we often suggest that clients avoid social media entirely during a case. 

The Guidance You Need When the Stakes Are High

If you’re pursuing a personal injury case, you need an attorney who is committed to fighting for your interests in court. However, you also need a lawyer who will take the time to support and guide you through this challenging and often confusing process.  

When you choose the team at Silberstein & Miklos, you get both. We have recovered more than $1 billion for our injured clients, and while winning is important to us, we never lose sight of the fact that you’re a person — not a case number. 

If you’ve been hurt because someone else was negligent, we may be able to help you. Please call our office or get in touch online to set up your free consultation!