Injured? How Social Media Can Be Your Worst Enemy
Social media is entwined into everyone's daily life. Not only are you reading all the information that people decide to put out there, but you may be posting your fair share as well. While this is usually fine under normal circumstances, you must realize that your life will be under more scrutiny than usual if you are injured and filing a personal injury lawsuit. Insurance companies will be looking for ways not to pay, and they may turn to your social media pages as a way to do so. This is why social media can be your worst enemy when injured.
You Don't Lock Profiles Down
Every social media site gives you some level of privacy control. You do not have to allow every post you make to be viewable by the public, meaning that people can check out your page without even making an account. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all let you control who can view your page. If you are injured and seeking damages, consider locking down all of these profiles so that only friends can see them.
You do not want people digging up your past to try to find evidence of previous behavior or looking too much into posts that you make after the accident. If your profiles are limited to only allowing friends to view them, you will be taking a good first step to preventing a potential problem.
You Talk Too Positively About The Injury
People don't typically post on social media to allow people to see how bad things are going in their life. It is common to make posts by putting a positive spin on things so it can be seen in the best light.
For example, a doctor may say that you are recovering from an injury at a normal rate, but you may be tempted to post on Facebook that you're having a great recovery and you'll be back to 100% in no time. Making an overly positive statement like that can make it seem like you don't have a bad injury. If that information somehow gets to the wrong people, you could make your injury seem like it is not as bad as it could be.
You Are Tagged By Other People
Sometimes the problem is related to what other people post. If you are tagged in a photo with a group of people doing a physical activity, it can imply that you were doing it too. This makes it look like you are recovering well from an injury, when you may have just been a bystander the whole time. Make sure to tell friends not to post about your injury on social media to give the wrong impression about your recovery.
For more information on how to use social media while pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, contact a law firm like O'Connor Mikita & Davidson LLC.