Privacy, Personal Injury, and Social Media
December 23, 2024- Categories: Personal Injury
If you need to recover personal injury compensation, you might have a good idea of what you need to do to protect yourself. This often consists of calling a lawyer, keeping records of medical bills and other costs, and never admitting fault for the accident. However, it can be easy to overlook one of the most important aspects of your case, i.e., what you post online. Your social media posts can be used to deny you the personal injury compensation you need. Understanding how this can happen helps you protect the outcome of your case.
The Importance of Protecting Privacy in a Personal Injury Case
People who say personal injury damage awards are too large have no idea what victims endure. Following an accident, a year or more can go by before a victim receives a cent from a defendant who is clearly at fault. The victim suffers physically, emotionally, and financially during this time. Some go completely broke due to medical expenses. They must also sacrifice their privacy in ways the rest of us take for granted.
Everything you do during a personal injury case is scrutinized. Don’t provide the defense with social media evidence that can be used against you.
For example, when most people visit the doctor, the information they share remains confidential. Strangers do not get to look at the records to see what happened behind the exam room door. Plaintiffs in a personal injury lawsuit do not have this protection because they are considered to have put their physical condition “at issue” in the case.
Given the lack of privacy victims already experience, it is unfortunate how much personal information is voluntarily conveyed to the defense through social media posts. In fact, social media has become the most common way for victims to unknowingly sabotage their case. This behavior needs to stop – not just because it is detrimental to plaintiffs, but because it leads juries to misconstrue evidence and reach false conclusions.
Social Media Posts Can Give the Wrong Impression
To understand why personal injury attorneys are so adamant about their clients’ avoiding social media, try the following. Turn on a cable news station like CNN. At the same time, open your Facebook feed. Compare what you see. Odds are, the news is reporting something “negative” (conflict, scandal, disaster), and your social media friends are discussing something “positive” (encouragement, triumph, humor).
People tend to portray themselves on social media in a way that casts a positive light on their lives. There is nothing wrong with this. It is social media, after all. Choosing not to dwell on the negative is simply good manners. If you were at a cocktail party, would you go around telling everyone how you live in a constant state of misery and pain?
Of course, many injury victims do live in misery and pain. They just choose not to post photos about it on Instagram. Tragically, when they experience a moment of happiness and share it on social media, they are later punished for it. Defendants and their lawyers are notorious for using social media posts to argue that victims are exaggerating their suffering. This is why it’s crucial to consult with a pedestrian accident lawyer who understands these tactics and can defend your rights.
Do you need to recover personal injury compensation in Southern California? Call 888-407-2955 to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer at Neale & Fhima.
How Social Media Can Hurt Your Personal Injury Case
A hypothetical situation serves to illustrate how social media posts can hurt your chances of recovering personal injury compensation. Following a slip and fall accident, you are released from the hospital with an ankle injury. While considering whether to consult a slip and fall accident lawyer, you decide to have dinner with friends in one of the following ways (and you post photos and captions of the meal).
In the first example, you are concerned about finances because of your medical bills. To save money, you stay home and cook for your friends. Here, the defense argument might be that if you can stand on your feet and cook a meal, your ankle must not hurt very much.
In example two, you are too exhausted to leave the house, so you ask your friends to come to your place and you order delivery. In this instance, the defense might argue that you must not be suffering because you are hosting social events.
According to the third example, you are in too much pain to grocery shop and you are tired of takeout food from your hospital stay. You join your friends at a restaurant. The defense argument for this scenario might be that being out and about is proof your ankle injury does not impede your mobility.
As you can see, there’s no single right answer. No matter what you do, your actions can be interpreted in a way that harms your best interests. The only safe solution is to simply refrain from posting on social media until your case is complete. Remember, defense lawyers will do more than introduce social media posts as evidence – they will “spin” the evidence to try to reduce your compensation.
Take a Break from Posting During Your Case
Apprehension over future litigation should not control your life as an accident victim. It is perfectly acceptable to eat out or invite friends over. If the matter comes up in deposition, the plaintiff’s testimony on the subject is unlikely to harm the case. However, evidence of these same activities can be devastating if memorialized on Twitter with a smiling photo of the victim and a hashtag indicating life is great. To avoid giving the wrong impression, injury victims should consult with an accident lawyer and keep their social lives private while the case is pending.
Let Our Southern California Personal Injury Lawyers Help
Neale & Fhima is a Southern California personal injury law firm with an impressive track record. Our seasoned legal team brings a combined 40 years of experience to your case. We’re proud to hold a 99% success rate in the personal injury cases we handle. Our attorneys have recovered over $50 million in injury compensation, accumulating a long list of positive client testimonials along the way.
If you need advice on navigating a personal injury claim in Southern California, Neale & Fhima can help. Call our firm today at 888-407-2955 to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Southern California personal injury lawyer.
Attorney Aaron Fhima
Aaron Fhima is a trial attorney who has secured numerous settlements and verdicts against large corporations and some of the largest auto manufacturers in the world. Representing consumers and injury victims throughout the state of California, Aaron’s practice areas include personal injury, and lemon law litigation. Aaron has a long record of success taking on large defense firms; and he doesn’t hesitate to take cases to trial when necessary to enforce his clients’ rights. [ Attorney Bio ]
