It’s no question the immense presence social media plays into our daily lives. Even if you are someone who isn’t really “on social media,” it’s existent in our everyday surroundings. Social media has become a platform where people wish to share aspects of their life, big or small. Whether that’s sharing your thoughts on a relevant topic, sharing a photo of your latest vacation, or just keeping up with friends, it’s there to make global interactions.

Many people heavily rely on social media for personal and business purposes. However, there are certain life circumstances that should avoid social media. Specifically, if you are involved in a lawsuit, it is in your best interest to not use social media to discuss or post anything related to your case. Social media can hurt an injury case. Here’s why.

Defense Attorneys and Insurance Companies

If you are involved in a personal injury lawsuit, a whole team of investigators, medical personnel, and lawyers are assisting you through your recovery. What claimants may not realize is that insurance companies ALSO have a whole team of experts and lawyers who are working to discredit your injury claim. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, for example, are social channels that people like to post in real-time. These channels are a great source of information for them to investigate.

Contradicts Your Case

During a personal injury claim, everything you say is crucial to your case and the outcome of it. For example, if you were in an accident and are claiming non-economic damages such as “pain and suffering” or “loss of enjoyment” and post a video out with friends, could prove otherwise. Even if it was a small outing, the defense can use it against you. 

Questions Your Reliability

It is all about the facts and the evidence that proves it. A social media post can easily establish you as unreliable. How? For example, if you lied about what you were doing or where you were going prior to the accident, and posted something on social media about it, your reliability will be questioned. Even if the detail you lied about is irrelevant to the case and accident.

Hiding Evidence

One of the worst actions you can do to harm your case is getting rid of evidence you believe could incriminate your case. Do not delete messages, photos, comments, videos or anything else of that nature. Investigators and other experts involved have ways to retrieve deleted data. Even if the content deleted was outside the scope of the lawsuit, it could still be found suspicious.

Stay Off the ‘Gram During Your Case

These are just a few examples of how social media activity can affect your claim. Do not underestimate the ways in which insurance companies and defense attorneys can use your social media data to their advantage. Even if you are being cautious about posting, your friend may message you on Facebook regarding the case that can make you look bad to a judge and jury. It is in your best interest to just log off during the case. For more information, talk to a personal injury lawyer about potential compensation losses due to negative social media activity.