Today, social media is a major part of most of our lives. We love to post updates to let our friends know what is going on in our world. It seems many people are not aware of the actual legal issues that social media can create for them. When major events such as a car accident occur in our lives, we want to post that we are okay and let our friends and family know what happened. However, if you aren’t careful these posts could harm any future personal injury claims.
Our social media accounts are clear records that simply never go away. Anything you post will be up for the long haul, and this can create very real problems if you post something that conflicts with the claims of your case. Every bit of the statements and pictures that can be found on your Facebook page can be used against you in court. For example, any admission of guilt, or anything sound like an admission of guilt, in a Facebook post letting your friends know you were in an accident can stop a personal injury claim and personal injury attorney dead in its tracks.
It isn’t only admissions of guilt that can harm your claim though. If you are attempting to ask for compensation for pain and suffering as a result of the accident, the defendant will pull anything they can to disprove you. If you have dozens of pictures on various social media sites of a ski trip you took since the accident, this can be used by the defendant to show that you are not suffering.
Of course, we cannot realistically list everything you can do on social media that may hurt your personal injury claim after an accident. To protect yourself, you need to retain a skilled Fort Collins car accident lawyer and communicate with them regularly. If you ever consider any post or picture might hurt your case, speak with your attorney first. Your attorney will know the intricacies of your case, and be able to predict the arguments that the other side could present. If it is too late, and you are concerned you may have posted something already that might be damaging, make sure that your attorney is aware of it so that you can start preparing for any opposition built on the post.
It is always a good idea to be careful what you post on social media, but please remember that this advice is tenfold when you have an active legal battle underway.