Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal injury claims can become hard fought battles between parties. When one person is injured through the fault of another, tensions can mount, and sides may be willing to do whatever it takes to prevail. A tool that has been relied upon recently in personal injury lawsuits is social media. People tend to live their lives online these days, posting pictures of places they go, people, they see and even the food they eat. These type of things seem innocent enough, but when you are embroiled in a lawsuit, even something innocuous may have a bad result. What follows are three reasons you should avoid social media at all costs during a suit.

1. Pictures May Paint a Different Story

You may have gotten hurt in that accident, and your back may still not be right. You may sacrifice a week in bed for a couple of hours on your kayak. However, what you really may wind up losing is credibility in court if those pictures get posted. When trying to win an injury award, one of the worst things you can do is engage in physical activities that contradict what the reports say. These activities may also cause your injury to worsen, and an insurance company is not going to want to pay for any further medical bills or treatment that their event did not create.

2. Your Time Off Work

If the doctor put you out of work on disability, you may find yourself unsettled after spending days or weeks at home. Since you’re off work anyway, you decide to take a trip and post pictures of all your travels online. Remember that disability is a time of healing – not traveling. Anything showing that you are not doing what you should be, such as resting or preparing yourself to return to work, may make you look bad in the eyes of the court.

3. The Money You Spend

Posting snaps of you eating out, going on trips and buying things is not the impression you want to leave with a judge or jury. When it comes to a lawsuit, you don’t need people believing that you are just after the defendant for the money and downplay your injuries. Being active on social media may wind up alienating people from thinking that your pain and suffering was as bad as it was. Since most people post only good pictures, you doing so will depict a very different lifestyle than the one you currently have or want the jury to believe you have.

Social media is great for connecting with people, but it’s not so great when it comes time to maintain a low profile during a personal injury lawsuit.