After a car accident, slip and fall, or any personal injury, it’s natural to want to share your experience with friends and family on social media. However, what you post online could have unintended consequences for your personal injury claim.
Insurance companies and opposing parties often scrutinize social media profiles to find anything that could undermine your case, and even innocent posts can be taken out of context to reduce or deny your compensation.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the legalities of insurance companies monitoring your social media and explain what they can and can’t view. We’ll also share tips on how to use social media responsibly, including things you should avoid so you don’t jeopardize your claim.
If you’ve been injured in Montana and are pursuing compensation, a few simple steps can go a long way in safeguarding your case.
Do insurance adjusters check social media?
Yes, insurance adjusters often check the social media accounts of individuals involved in claims. Their goal is to use information from social media to dispute the cause or extent of your injury and generally cast you in a bad light in front of a jury to minimize your compensation.
However, it’s important to note that there are ethical and legal limits to what information insurance adjusters can gather and how they can use it. While they may monitor public posts, they generally cannot access private messages or accounts without a warrant.
To protect yourself during a personal injury claim, it’s essential to avoid social media or at least maintain a very high level of privacy on your accounts.
What information can insurance companies get from my social media accounts?
Insurance companies can gather a surprising amount of information from your social media accounts, especially if your profiles are public. Here’s the kind of information they might be able to see:
- Public profile details. Information such as your employment status, job changes, or updates on your public profile can reveal discrepancies with your claim. Visible bio updates or status posts might also provide insight into your condition or circumstances.
- Photos and videos. Insurance companies can gather information from photos and videos you post that reveal your physical condition or contradict your claimed injuries. For example, even an image of you pushing your child on a swing at the park could be used against you if you’re claiming to have a severe back injury after a car accident.
- Location data. They can look at check-ins to places that conflict with your claim, such as visiting an amusement park while reporting mobility issues. Geotags on photos can also reveal your whereabouts and activities.
- Posts and captions. Written updates about your daily activities, like a post saying, “Finally starting to feel better!” after filing for injury benefits, can be scrutinized for inconsistencies. Posts about work or hobbies can also suggest you’re more active than reported.
- Comments and interactions. Comments on your posts or interactions with others can provide evidence about your activities. For instance, a friend’s seemingly harmless comment like “Great seeing you at the party last night!” could raise questions about the severity of an injury.
- Timeline and activity logs. The dates and times of posts can also show discrepancies, such as working out shortly after a reported car accident. Frequent updates can also imply you are more active than you claim to be.
- Tags and mentions. Being tagged in photos or posts that show activities contradicting your claims, such as a hiking trip with a reported leg injury, can be used as evidence. Mentions of you in posts or comments suggesting activities you haven’t disclosed can also raise red flags.
- Shared articles or media. Sharing articles about recovery, specific treatments, or activities can hint at the nature or progress of your injury, potentially undermining your claim.
- Group memberships and events. Memberships in fitness or sports groups can conflict with reported injuries and raise questions about your physical abilities. Similarly, RSVPs to events or classes that contradict your reported limitations could be used as evidence.
While you may be able to prevent insurance companies from accessing some of this information if your accounts are private, it’s difficult to control everything, especially what others post about you.
If you plan to continue using social media during a contentious personal injury lawsuit, it’s highly recommended that you discuss it with your personal injury attorney first.
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Are private social media accounts actually private?
Unfortunately, setting your social media accounts to private doesn’t always guarantee that your information will remain inaccessible to insurance companies. While privacy settings can limit public visibility, insurance companies have other ways to access your content.
They may obtain court orders or issue subpoenas to compel access to “private” posts, photos, or messages during an investigation. In such cases, content shared on private accounts, like photos, check-ins, or status updates, can often be used as evidence in court if it’s relevant to the case.
Even if your account is private, the information you’ve shared with friends or followers can still be screenshotted, forwarded, or otherwise shared, potentially undermining your claim. This is why it’s crucial to be cautious about what you post online, even on accounts with strict privacy settings.
How can I use social media safely during a lawsuit?
Using social media safely during a lawsuit requires extra caution to avoid jeopardizing your case. Below are some tips to help you navigate social media after an accident if you feel that you need to remain active on your accounts:
- Keep settings on “private.” Adjust your privacy settings so only trusted connections can see your posts. Be aware that private doesn’t mean completely secure—your posts could still be subpoenaed.
- Don’t accept invitations from anyone you don’t know. Avoid accepting friend requests or following new people who you don’t know personally during the lawsuit.
- Don’t post photos or videos of yourself. Avoid sharing any photos or videos during your lawsuit, as they can easily be misinterpreted or taken out of context.
- Disable the “tagging” feature. This will prevent others from tagging you in posts, photos, or videos that could reveal information about your activities or whereabouts without your consent. Even well-meaning tags from friends or family could inadvertently provide evidence that contradicts your claims.
- Avoid any mention of your case. Don’t post any updates about your case or send any emails about your case to anyone except your attorney.
- Make friends and family aware of your situation. Politely ask friends and family not to post about you or tag you in anything while your case is ongoing.
- Avoid contradicting your claims. Don’t share posts, photos, or videos that could imply you’re healthier or more active than reported.
- Don’t delete posts after filing. Deleting social media content after a lawsuit starts may be seen as tampering with or destroying evidence, which could harm your case.
The bottom line is that you should always assume that anything you post will be read by an insurance adjuster, the judge, and the jury. Remember: The safest way to avoid harming your claim is to refrain from using social media at all.
Looking for the best personal injury attorney in Great Falls to help with your claim?
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Montana and are navigating the complexities of a lawsuit, being cautious with social media is just one part of the process.
At Murphy Law Firm, we understand the challenges accident victims face and are here to provide the dedicated legal support you deserve. Our skilled Great Falls personal injury attorneys have more than 75 years of experience in protecting the rights of accident victims and negotiating settlements with insurance companies. We’ll fight to ensure you receive fair compensation for your injuries and guide you every step of the way.
