Top personal injury lawyers in Las Vegas routinely warn their clients to exercise extreme caution on social media when involved in an accident claim. Social meeting is the new hunting ground where insurers and defendants’ lawyers search for evidence to undermine an injury victim’s claim for damages. Scouring Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or other popular social media sites has become a standard procedure during the discovery phase. In your accident case, the opposing party will be looking for pictures of you enjoying yourself, appearing more mobile than your alleged injuries should allow, and realistically any information that could paint you in a negative light in regards to your legal claims.

 

Nothing Is Truly Private

 Photos, written comments, or even a check-in at a business, like a gym, can serve as evidence against your case. Much of the content about your activities and whereabouts captured on social media can be admissible in court.

Your privacy settings do not ensure that your information is protected. Friends who tag you might reveal a picture of you that might be interpreted against you. You have no control over who tags you.

Not all of your connections on social media are necessarily trustworthy. Your friends and acquaintances might even be misled into sharing information about you by private investigators digging for information. A private investigator might even send you a friend request to gain access to your feed.

If your privacy settings are not particularly restrictive, an investigator could locate some of your account’s content. Your name and email address or place of employment might allow an investigator to pinpoint your account and start monitoring it.

Due to the insecurity of social media platforms, personal injury lawyers advise their clients to refrain much discussing their case online or sharing anything about the accident or current activities.

 

How Can Social Media Damage a Personal Injury Case?

The number one priority for the opposing party is finding evidence to dispute your claims about physical pain, suffering, disability, or emotional distress. Any content that could conceivably disprove the merit of your request for compensation will be exploited.

Pictures of you engaged in activities that your injuries should preclude represent the top source of evidence that could devalue your claim. Images of you at the beach or doing yard work may form an argument that you are not suffering or disabled. An insurer or lawyer might even argue that seemingly innocent pictures of you smiling alongside friends negates your complaint of emotional distress.

Any controversial or erroneous statements that you published online could be twisted into an attack on your credibility. Your opponent might suggest that you change your mind often, have conflicting opinions, and are not a very reliable source of information.

Criticism of the person responsible for your injury on social media also provides fodder for the defendant. The opposing party might paint a picture of you as someone who has a vendetta against the individual. Arguments like these have the potential to influence jurors’ opinions against you. As a result, you can expect an injury lawyer Las Vegas to warn you to never mention anything about your legal case online.

 

What to Avoid Doing

Although you may enjoy your social media interactions and appreciate expressions of sympathy regarding your accident and injuries, social media silence will be your best strategy during litigation.

To protect your injury case, do NOT:

• Engage with people online who you do not know or trust
• Share any information about the insurance claim or lawsuit
• Respond to comments about your accident
• Share any pictures of you in potentially compromising settings or situations
• Share any content related to celebrating, partying, or drinking

 

Although this advice might seem extreme, the party responsible for your damages wants to avoid paying a high settlement. A picture of you posing with a friend with a smile on your face does not communicate the pain that you endured to struggle out of a chair to stand for a moment. People coping with chronic pain sometimes find the strength to enjoy themselves, but images cannot tell that side of the story.

 

Protect Your Accident Claim With Legal Guidance

Few people who suffer a personal injury possess expertise in the tactics used to deflect claims for damages. When you launch a personal injury case, you are likely entering new and unfamiliar territory. The process is very adversarial, and you may not anticipate the level of creativity that will discredit your suffering and losses. Top personal injury lawyers Las Vegas know what to expect. The team at Moss Berg can guide you through each step on the road to recovering financial damages. Contact our personal injury law office in Las Vegas today.