A personal injury can have a profound effect on the victim, impacting everything from their ability to work to their overall quality of life. Pursuing a personal injury claim can be challenging, though it is necessary to collect the compensation you deserve for recovery. At a time when people want to share their lives with faraway friends, using social media might seem like an effective way to keep loved ones current on your case—but this might not be in your best interest.

How Social Media Use Can Affect Your Personal Injury Case

1. Casting Doubt on Your Claim

It's important to remember that your posts become a matter of public record, even if you use a platform’s privacy settings. The words, images, and videos could be admissible as evidence against you in a legal case. If you sustain back injury after slipping on a wet sidewalk and post photos from a party a week later, how will that look for your case? It’s important to think about how a third party could interpret those actions in light of an alleged injury.

2. Blaming Pre-Existing Conditions 

Opposing counsel and insurance companies will look for ways to discredit your personal injury claim. They might search through your social media posts for slivers of information that could be tied to a pre-existing condition. If you file a claim over whiplash but have old posts about headaches, the opposing side may try to make a connection between previous complaints and your current condition to avoid paying out your settlement.

3. Tampering With Evidence

Out of fear that they may have posted or might in the future post something incriminating, some accident victims will try to edit past posts or delete their social media accounts altogether. Don't go down this path. If the opposite side has already seen that you have social media accounts with specific posts, they could label deleting or editing the content as tampering with evidence. This action can have serious consequences, including fines or a complete dismissal of your personal injury case. 

If you sustain a personal injury and need a reliable team to guide you through the claims process, Bellotti Law Group, PC will provide effective representation. For over 25 years, they have been serving the Boston, Cambridge, and Quincy areas of Massachusetts to help injury victims get the financial resources they need to move forward with their lives. Call (617) 778-1000 to arrange a free consultation, and visit their website for more information about their experience with personal injury cases. Find the firm on Facebook or Twitter for additional insight on a variety of topics.