Injured In A Car Accident, Or Hurt At Work? Be Careful What You Post Online.

Social Media and Personal Injury, or Workers’ Compensation Claims – What Prying Eyes want to Know

In today’s day and age, social media is everywhere as many of us eagerly post to and check Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, and many other sites.  In fact, it is rare to be somewhere in public such as a restaurant, the grocery store, or gas station, and have people not be using their phones for this purpose.  At the click of a button, we can update our personal pages with minute by minute pictures or commentary of our every waking moment.  But how should you treat so called social media if you are in the middle of a personal injury action, or a workers’ compensation claim?

No matter how private your settings are, and no matter how much you think you are being careful, if you are in the middle of a case the prying eyes of the insurance companies and their attorneys are on you.  A seemingly innocent post taken out of context can have a seriously detrimental outcome on your case.  A moment of frustration, or poor judgment can lead to a picture being posted that simply does not present the best side of you.  So, if you have any type of litigation going on, or even a claim where everything is going smoothly, it is in your best interest to suspend all activities on social media.

The last thing you want to have to do is turn over your entire social media life to the insurance companies and their attorneys so that they can pick and choose the parts that are favorable to them, and rest assured, detrimental to you, to show to a jury, or workers’ compensation commissioner.  Social media sites are designed for the sole purpose of “sharing,” and some courts have found that there is no expectation of privacy if you post something on a social media site, and have required Plaintiffs to turn over their entire social media lives to the defendants.  The law is going to continue to evolve and change in this area as technology continues to advance.  It is likely to think the trend for allowing disclosure of this type of information will lean increasingly toward allowing it to be available to the prying eyes, and not toward protecting personal privacy.  So, if you have an auto accident claim, or workers’ compensation claim, pick up a book, and put down your phone!

Tippens & Zurosky has knowledgeable, experienced attorneys who can fight for your rights if you have been injured on the job, or in an automobile accident in North Carolina, or South Carolina.  Call us toll-free at 877-372-3580, or at704-343-0018, for a free consultation or visit us online at www.tandzlaw.com.  Let us help you!