Did you know that your social media accounts can be used against you in a claim?
Social Media is the new surveillance system being used by insurance companies to get an idea of how your injuries are affecting your day-to-day life. Although you may be suffering from the effects of your injury, the common use of social media to display a “more perfect” version of one’s life is being used by insurance companies to argue against the severity of your injuries and can result in a huge reduction in the damages awarded at the conclusion of your case. It is for this reason that we discourage the use of social media during the process of your claim.
You aren’t the only one you need to be aware of.
Keeping on the down low on social media is easier said than done now adays. Although you may be keeping an eye on what you post, your friends and family may not be so careful, and any activity can be taken the wrong way for the purpose of the other side trying to reduce your claim. Insurers won’t just look at your Facebook/Twitter/Instagram accounts, they will also visit the pages of your friends and relatives to see what they can dig up.
But your private messages should be safe… right?
Unfortunately, even private messages can be used against you if they are requested. There have been cases in the past where a claim has gone to trial, and the judge has granted that a Plaintiff’s Facebook materials be disclosed to the court. Private messages between the Plaintiff and close friend’s/relatives brought up other stresses in their life that could be argued as the cause for certain areas of their claim. This was a hit to the Plaintiff’s credibility to the court and resulted in a major reduction in the final settlement amount.
This doesn’t mean you can continue to live your life due to your claim.
We understand that social media is a major aspect of modern life and the threat of it being used against you can be daunting. Injuries often have good and bad days, where they may affect you less and you might take advantage of that. Although we advise against the use of social media throughout the progression of a claim, we want to ensure our clients understand the reasoning behind it and the effect that their family/friend’s accounts can have on their claim.
What can we do to protect your claim?
We can assist you in properly describing the impact that your injuries have on your day-to-day life to prevent the exaggeration that can arise from the disclosure of social media accounts. In order to do this, we need you to be honest and accurate with the description of your injuries. We can help you navigate through the process of your claim so that it doesn’t get compromised by social media activity.
