Social media quickly impacts a personal injury claim case in both positive and negative ways. While it can become the best source to gather evidence from to show the authenticity of your statements, it can also harm a case where the victim’s posts do not align with their situation.
If you are trying to figure out how to get a solution in such situations when sources like social media are involved, consulting a professional attorney is the best solution. On top of it, hiring skillfully trained attorneys like the ones at Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys Firm can increase the chances of getting your claim.
Knowing how social media can be used to both help and hurt a personal injury claim is very important to avoid mistakes that drag your case down. Hence, learn more below!
How can social media help a personal injury claim?
Here are a few examples of how social media can help with personal injury claims:
1. Documenting with injuries
Any kind of posts shared on social media can visually show injuries like bruises and cuts if it is documented after the accident. This kind of post can clearly show how the victim is really injured and how it has impacted the victim’s daily life.
2. Understanding the timeline of events
Social media posts are very helpful in understanding the timeline of the events that happened leading to the injury. These posts can show when the injury occurred and when the treatment began, along with the progress of recovery. Everything supports the story in the claim.
3. Accident witness accounts
If the eyewitnesses of the accident post about it on their social media, it can become a huge piece of evidence in the case. Their posts can support the story told by the victim and make the claim more credible.
4. Public support and awareness
Sharing the story of how the victim got into the accident and how the injury happened can also spread awareness of the incident. Sometimes, it can also help the victim gain financial and emotional support because of the daily life challenges the victim faces with the injury.
How can social media hurt a personal injury claim?
The following are a few examples of how social media can hurt a personal injury claim:
1. Contradictory actions
If the claiming person posts any pictures or videos doing things like working out or playing sports while claiming a back injury, it can be used against them. Such posts can encourage the opposing party to doubt the severity of the injuries and weaken the victim’s case. Plus, the victim might look like a liar in front of the opposite prosecutor and the court.
2. Interpreting statements as admitting fault
Comments made on social media can help the opposite party interpret statements as admissible faults, even if the comment was an innocent joke. Even causal statements can be taken out of context to prove the victim’s active role in getting the injury.
3. Misrepresentation of emotions
If someone posts happy posts on social media while claiming to be in emotional distress, it can bring up the argument of the victim not being really affected, as told in the story. It can potentially decide the victim’s mental state after the injury.
4. Privacy concerns
Even if someone has strict privacy settings, the opposite party can get through to your posts with the help of a hacker or some skilled sources. This means that if you have any potentially damaging content, it can be used as evidence against you.
Consult with a personal injury attorney!
Since there are many complexities involved when social media is taken as a source of evidence, a smart choice would be to consult with a personal injury attorney. An experienced attorney can provide proper guidance on using social media strategically to help the case instead of weakening it.
