When you pursue a personal injury lawsuit, the defense is going to do everything it can to either block your recovery or reduce it as much as possible. That’s why it’s imperative that you seek immediate medical attention for your injuries and adhere to any follow up recommendations.
But while creating a record of your losses is important, so, too, is avoiding making mistakes that could jeopardize your recovery. One vulnerability in your case might be your use of social media.
How social media could hurt your personal injury case
Although social media can be a great outlet for connecting with those we care about, it can also be dangerous when you’re pursuing a personal injury lawsuit. Here’s why:
- Your statements and photographs might be taken out of context and used to show that your injuries aren’t as serious as you claim them to be.
- Your words can be used against you to demonstrate that you’ve accepted at least some responsibility for the accident.
- Your posts can be used to highlight any inconsistencies in your statements, which can thereby jeopardize your credibility with the judge and jury.
- Your posts portraying the best parts of your life can be misconstrued to show that your noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, aren’t’ that bad.
What can you do to protect your interests?
Fortunately, you don’t have to let social media derail your case. Instead, you can change your privacy settings, remove questionable content, and refrain from posting on your page as well as commenting on others’ content.
If you want to maximize your chances of succeeding on your personal injury claim, then you have to pay attention to the details. That can be hard to do if you’ve never taken legal action before, but help can be found when it comes to navigating this tough time in your life so that you can hopefully find accountability, closure, and the financial resources you need.
