Common Social Media Mistakes Victims Make In Injury Cases

Almost all of us have social media accounts. But what many of us don’t realize is that social media can, and does, become evidence in many personal injury cases.

Often, your attorneys won’t know or advise you as to the mistakes that people make on social media that could affect their personal injury case. Here are some pointers so that you don’t make those very mistakes, or worse, have to worry about a judge or the other side’s attorney, asking you about something you posted.

Deleting posts – Once you have made a personal injury claim, be very careful about deleting social media posts. That’s because your posts could be evidence in your case, that the other side has a right to see and inspect.

You can hide a social media post, or change its privacy settings—something so that if needed, the original post can still be retrieved and accessed. But don’t just delete or destroy a post (which includes text or photos associated with the post), so that you aren’t ever accused of destroying possible evidence in a case.

Action photos – Be careful about posting photos that show you are more active than you really are in real life. This can undermine a claim that you are too disabled or in pain, to do those things.

Yes, you are still allowed to go out, have fun, or do activities, even when you have a personal injury case, and certainly, one photo doesn’t tell the whole story of your overall daily pain or disability.

Still, if something you post undermines, or contradicts, a claim that you are making in your case, such as your inability to engage in an activity, or photos of you working when you have stated you can’t work, that can be a bad thing to have to explain.

Attorney client privilege – Be very careful of even side comments online, that tell the world what your lawyer told you. Casual comments like “lawyer said I had to” do something, or not do something, or go somewhere, or be careful of something, all are exposing your confidential communications with your attorney.

This, by the way, includes not just posts that you make, but any comments you may make on other people’s posts. It’s never a good idea to divulge to anybody what your attorney told you, but it’s especially bad to put it on social media, for the whole world to see.

Avoid anger – Understandably, you may be angry over whoever it is that was negligent and caused you injury. But it is just not a good look to lash out against them on social media. Not only to you risk exposing attorney client privileged information, but it can make you appear vengeful, with a personal grudge against the defendant, which is something a jury won’t take kindly to.

Avoid common mistakes that victims make in personal injury cases. Contact our Rhode Island personal injury lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates at 401-453-2700 today.

Source:

forbes.com/sites/andrewarnold/2018/12/30/heres-how-social-media-can-be-used-against-you-in-court/