How Your Social Media Use Can Impact Your Personal Injury Case

When you file a personal injury lawsuit, you have to pay attention to how you use your social media platforms. Anything you place on social media can have an impact on your case. You also need to think about the things you have posted in the past, since most everything can live on the internet for the foreseeable future. To prevent the damage of your case, consider the following:

What Should You Do with Your Social Media?

When you file a personal injury lawsuit, you need to completely privatize your social media accounts. You may even want to deactivate them temporarily until the conclusion of your case. You may also want to go through your accounts and remove anything that could hurt you, such as disparaging comments or photos showing you in circumstances that can be perceived as you not being injured. Also, do not comment on the accounts of friends and family until your case is over. It is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to a personal injury lawsuit.

Do Attorneys Get Access to Your Social Media Accounts?

One problem you may worry about is whether or not any attorney can gain access to your social media accounts after you file a lawsuit. In general, no one will receive the freedom to get into your social media platforms, although an attorney can ask for your passwords through a formal request. You can certainly deny the request.

You do not have to grant access via passwords, but any part of your social media platforms that are open to the public are free game. No attorney has to ask permission to view anything that is shared publicly by you. Anything you post and share to the public can possibly hurt you in a lawsuit.

How Do Pictures Affect Your Case?

Pictures are a vital piece of evidence in any personal injury case. Since most social media platforms host pictures, anything you post during a lawsuit can hurt you. If you are suing for a broken ankle because you fell at the grocery store, then you post photos of yourself running a 5k, this can be used as evidence against you, as it shows you are not as injured as you claim to be.

You have to be very careful about how you use your social media and pictures during a personal injury lawsuit. Even seemingly innocent acts can be perceived as something else that can ultimately make you lose your case. For more tips and help with your case, work with a local personal injury lawyer


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