Social Media Mistakes Personal Injury Plaintiffs Should Avoid

Personal Injury and Social Media

It’s 2024 and social media is ubiquitous. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat – any of them can hurt your case.

Thankfully, you don’t have to stop firing off tweets. Just follow our brief guide to make sure you don’t make a big mistake.

Even if your profile is private, assume everyone can see it

This is a great tip in general, but especially for your case. Anything you put on the web can be found. Talking about your case on Facebook is a good way to start talking about your Facebook in court.

Nevertheless, you should also set your profiles to private and review all follow requests.

Your case is between you and your attorney, don’t put it on the web

Take care not to share anything about your case on the web. Insurance companies, defense attorneys, and investigators can use information from the web to discredit your injury claim.

For example, if you post a picture of you playing basketball with your kids, they could use this to try to undermine the gravity of your injuries.

Don’t add anyone you don’t know during your claim

This could be someone trying to dig for information against you or your case. Only add people you know throughout the duration of your case.

Set up profiles so that any posts about you can be reviewed before going into friends’ feeds

It’s important to have final say on anything that anybody says about you online. Make sure that you are the custodian of your public image for the duration of your injury claim.

Review all of your privacy settings and set them to the most strict

There are varying degrees of privacy on social media. We recommend sharing as little as possible with as few people as possible.

Talk to your friends and family about not posting about you until your case settles

While less likely, it is very possible for people to gain information about you by viewing mutual friends profiles. Even with mutual friends lists turned off or private, people can figure out who you are close to and try to dig up more info.

Don’t go on social media when drunk

We think this one is self explanatory. Don’t make a careless mistake because you had a few too many.

Removing yourself from social media is reversible

Really, the best way to avoid any impact on your case is to stop using social media altogether. If this is doable, you certainly should consider it.

Most social media sites offer hibernation options for your profile. You can pick back up where you left off to brag about your settlement.

Uplift Legal Funding

Uplift Legal Funding is a pre-settlement personal injury loan company that serves personal injury plaintiffs nationwide. For more information, apply online or give us a call at (800) 385-3660 today.