Can Facebook Hurt Your Personal Injury Lawsuit?

• January 29, 2016
• Personal Injury

Social media is part of our everyday lives. We use Facebook to stay up-to-date with family and friends we don’t see often. It’s easy to post an update or a photo once so that everyone you are connected with hears what is up with you.

But what do you post when you are involved in a personal injury lawsuit?

When you need a personal injury lawyer in the Kansas City area, contact us for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your case.

Contact Us

Gathering Evidence Through Social Media

In today’s world, we reach out to friends, family and co-workers through Facebook, Twitter and other social media as part of our normal way to communicate. We freely discuss our lives online. We post photos of major events in our lives. It is just something we do. We rarely consider that there might be others lurking out there who may use what we say against us.

But that is reality. Gathering evidence from social media sites and other internet sources has become routine in law practices. Investigators may Google you. They may find your Facebook account and friend you or follow you on Twitter. Even if you think you have your social media locked up tight, using the highest privacy settings possible, there are still ways to find your social media content. For instance, someone might friend or follow your family or friends, or they could possibly get a court order to access your private social media content.

We leave cyber crumbs when we post online that others may follow. Facebook is great for keeping in touch with family and friends; however, it can be a double-edged sword when you are involved in a personal injury case.

Social Media and Your Personal Injury Lawsuit

If you have been injured and are considering or are currently involved in a personal injury lawsuit, the best practice is to handle all communications through an attorney.

That means, when it comes to social media, you should stay silent. If anyone asks about your injuries or your accident, you should say nothing. If you feel you must respond, thank them for asking and tell them you cannot make any comments. You especially do not want to say you are feeling fine, when you are not, talk about any medical procedures you may be having or any other aspect of your case.

You also need to ask family and friends not to say anything or make comments about your situation on social media channels. Even saying the simplest thing can potentially be misconstrued or twisted to mean something different.

Social Media Tips

• Make sure all of your social media settings are set to private, or the highest level of privacy it offers.
• Do not accept invitations from people you do not know.
• Do not post photos or videos of yourself; if you do, do not enable others to “tag” you.
• Do not send emails, post updates or post photos about your case to anyone except your attorneys.
• Ask all friends and family to not post anything about your situation on their social media accounts.

Sign up for Our Email

If you would like to receive news and blog updates on a regular basis, sign up to receive our email newsletter. Your email address will only be used to send you our newsletter and respond to inquiries.

Sign up for Email

Past results afford no guarantee of future results and each case is different and is judged on its own merits. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.