Injury Law Group Blog

Can Social Media Affect Your Case?

Personal Injury Law

Nowadays most people use some form of social media regularly, whether its Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Twitter.  But did you know that this could potentially impact your case?  On multiple occasions, cases have been dismissed due to images found on social media that contradict injuries or emotional suffering.  For example, if an injury victim claims they have suffered neck and back injuries, but has pictures on a vacation excursion, it can discredit your case. It is becoming increasingly common for defence lawyers to research social media data.  Although these social media posts show only snapshots of one’s life, there are risks in posting during an active personal injury lawsuit.  It is also important to remember that privacy settings may not necessarily protect you in a lawsuit and a judge can order the plaintiff’s Facebook page to be included in the evidence, even if it is set as private.  Tips to avoid this risk include the following:

• Think before you post
• Do not accept friend or follower requests from people you don’t know
• Do not post online about your lawsuit
• Un-tag imagesof yourself or ask who posted them to remove them
• Avoid posting images on any social media platform and avoid posting statuses, tweets, etc., that you would not feel comfortable sharing with defence lawyers

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