personal injury case in Greenville SC

How Social Media Affects a Personal Injury Case in Greenville, South Carolina

March 18, 2018

Social media has its perks.  You can reconnect with old friends, keep up to date on the happenings with your current friends and even make new friends.   Twitter, Instagram, Facebook are the big three, but then there is Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumbler and many more in the works.  With all the good social media has to offer can come the bad, which can effect your personal injury case in Greenville, SC.

When Social Media Posts Hurt Your Personal Injury Case in Greenville

When you post anything on social media (or online, for that matter), it becomes public information and those images and words no longer belong to you.  When you hit that “post now” button, there is no turning back, even if you delete the content moments later.

Therefore, it is extremely important to be very vigilant about what you post on social media if you have a personal injury case in Greenville in the works.  Even the most well-meaning, sincere post can be used against you and cost you thousands of dollars in compensation that you rightfully deserve.

Remember, a personal injury case means that you have suffered physical injury.  Social media posts can contain information that conflict directly with your case, so you’ll need to know what to post – and what not to post – until your personal injury case is closed.  

How Social Media Can Be Used Against You During a Personal Injury Case in Greenville, South Carolina

What may seem like an innocent snapshot can be turned into something completely different.  Here are some possible scenarios:

Example A:

The Personal Injury Case:  You have a severe hand injury from a car accident and are awaiting the insurance’s company’s settlement decision.  

The Social Media Post:  You show a picture of the meal you just cooked to treat yourself to something special after a long workweek.  The post includes a grilled steak, oven fries, and steamed broccoli. A glass of wine rounds out what makes for a beautiful picture.

The Potential Problem: Any lawyer working against you could inquire about how you were able to use that injured hand to pull together such a meal.  And that glass of wine: how could a severely injured hand possibly hold a bottle of wine or a corkscrew to get the bottle opened?

Example B:

The Personal Injury Case:  Headaches following a blow to the head that occurred during when one car hit your vehicle. The headaches impact your sleep and your ability to go to work.

The Social Media Posts: Pictures of you smiling.

The Potential Problem:  If your headaches are so awful that you can’t sleep or go to work, how are your able fix your hair, put on make-up and smile in a series of pictures if you are suffering daily intermittent debilitating headaches?  

Example C:

The Personal Injury Case: Your leg is injured in a slip and fall accident that occurred on wet floors at a local grocery store.  

The Social Media Post:  You and your friends decide a weekend camping trip is in order.  You post a picture of the scenic view from the trail you just hiked.

The Potential Problem:  How were you able to go camping, much less on a hike with a significant leg injury?

The above cases may not be exactly what your situation entails, but it does accurately describe how an opposing lawyer can use social media posts against you – even when you’re not pictured in the post.

How to Handle Your Social Media Accounts During a Personal Injury Case

The first recommendation from an experienced personal injury lawyer will be to avoid posting on social media altogether.   This may be difficult for some people, given that 81% of Americans have at last one social media account.    If you do decide to post, go with these guidelines:

  • Do NOT discuss or post photos of your injuries, treatments or healing process.
  • Do NOT discuss your personal injury case.
  • Do NOT post any activity that shows or discusses any physical activity – even travel.
  • Do NOT reply to anyone who asks about to your situation online.

And don’t forget to talk to your friends and family as well.  Any of their posts that show you involved in physical activity can be just as damaging, so ask them to keep you – and your activities – off their social media pages.

Get an Experienced Attorney TODAY

If you have experienced an injury, you need a lawyer who can not only help you win your case but can also advise you on how social media can specifically affect it.  Call the Greenville personal injury attorneys at Fulton and Barr for a free consultation. We have more than 40 years of experience helping personal injury victims. Call us today so we can get you the compensation you deserve.