How Social Media Can Affect Your Personal Injury Case

Many people use social media so frequently that it’s become a regular part of their day. Unfortunately, it can sometimes cause issues for injury victims who are pursuing negligence claims. Investigators and defense lawyers will often review your social media accounts to learn more about you. They may try to find information that could allow them to challenge your personal injury case. Our experienced Washington DC personal injury lawyers are able to advise you on how social media affects your case, and what you should do to protect yourself.

What is social media?

Today, social media includes many different forums. According to Indeed, social media includes social networks that help connect people. Examples are X (formerly Twitter), Meta (formerly Facebook), LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram.

There are also blogging and publishing networks, consumer-review networks, networks based on your interests (such as book club networks), shopping networks, and video hosting networks. Many publications have networks that allow all readers and viewers to post comments.

Can insurance companies and lawyers use your social media accounts against you?

Generally, the answer is yes. For this reason, it’s best to avoid posting anything that in any way could affect your personal injury case. It’s also wise to tell the people in your life that they shouldn’t post anything that could affect your case either. Your social media posts (and those of your family and friends) can be used against you in the following ways:

• Liability. Any statements that plaintiffs make, even statements that seem innocent, could indicate partial responsibility for an accident. Simply saying that you’re sorry for what happened could affect your liability claim.
• Your physical damages. The defense will look for anything to show you’re not hurting as much as you say. For example, if you say your back pain causes constant agony, then videos or pictures of you walking your dog, carrying your child, or running can affect the amount of damages you receive.
• Your emotional damages. If you claim your herniated disc or burn injuries are causing you to cry all the time, then pictures of you laughing can be problematic, even if those pictures are the rare exception to the rule.
• Credibility. Insurance companies and defense lawyers will look for any inconsistencies between your posts and what you tell the police, or say in interrogatories, depositions, or court.
• Timing issues. If you say at trial that you only had a split-second to react, then any social media statements where you say that you had a few seconds to react could be used against you. If you say you were at home before your trip, but your posts show you were somewhere else, that can hurt your claim because it looks like you’re not honest.

How can my social media statements and images be used against me?

Anything you say on your social media account can be used at the following stages of your case:

• The defendants have the right to question you about your liability claim and your damage claim. Discovery questions can be fairly broad. Defense lawyers, having your social media information before the deposition, will try to have you say something at the deposition that contradicts that information. They may also use the depositions to learn more about your social media accounts.
• The insurance adjusters will use any inconsistencies or problematic social media information to try to deny your claim or limit their settlement offers.
• The defense lawyer will use every chance possible to introduce your social media into evidence to contradict anything you say to a judge or a jury.

What types of statements/images can be introduced against you?

Information from your social media accounts and the accounts of family, friends, and coworkers can be used against you. This information includes:

• Any comments you make on your site or any other site can be used to disprove liability, reduce your damage claim, or attack your credibility.
• The photographs and videos you post or others post can be used in the same way text can be used to hurt your case.
• Statements, photos, and videos of witnesses. Any posts from anyone who knows you can be used against you to affect your claim.

Many posts include information about the time of the post, the location of the post, the location of any images, and other information that could affect your personal injury claim.

 What issues determine the admissibility of social media content in Washington, DC

Not every social media post is admissible. Some of the factors that affect the admissibility of social media evidence include:

• Generally, the social media content must relate to some aspect of your vehicle accident, slip and fall claim, medical malpractice complaint, sexual assault claim, or any other personal injury claim. The probative value of the evidence must be more than the prejudicial value. Generally, evidence can’t be introduced if it’s only designed to embarrass or humiliate you unless there’s a very good reason for its introduction.
• The defendant has to show that the statements or images came from the social media site (and not some other source) and that they haven’t been tampered with.
• Public information. Generally, the information must be information that doesn’t violate any privacy laws. Accessing private content through deceptive means may raise legal and ethical concerns.
• Civil rules of procedure. Washington, DC has specific rules on when and how evidence can be introduced into evidence. The social media information involved in your case must comply with those rules, otherwise, it’s not admissible.

How can you prevent the use of social media content in a personal injury case?

For the above reasons, the best way to avoid the negative consequences of your posts or the posts of others, include:

• Discontinuing your social media posts completely
• Ceasing any discussion about your accident
• Informing the people who might post about you to stop any mentions of your case or about you until your case is resolved
• Changing your settings to private can help prevent the defense from seeing social media information about you, though privacy settings aren’t foolproof
• Refusing any friend requests from people you don’t know

Generally, you should speak with our personal injury lawyers before deleting any social information because that might look like you have something to hide.

If you were in any type of accident or suffered harm due to someone’s negligence, our lawyers are ready to help you. Please call Nace Law Group or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We have offices in Washington, DC and West Virginia.