The Risk of Social Networking During Personal Injury Claims

When filing a personal injury insurance claim, there are aspects of social media that you should be aware of. Almost everyone uses sites like Twitter and Facebook to communicate with friends and family, but did you know that almost anyone can access your personal information and posts?

When involved in a personal injury case, insurance companies and lawyers may be able to see your daily activities and conversations between your friends and followers. If there is any information that contradicts the terms of your claim, they can and will use that against you. You should be perceptive about the things you are posting on the internet, because anyone could take these things out of context.

The following is a list of guidelines on handling Social Media while involved in a Personal Injury Claim:

Delete, Deactivate, or set maximum security settings on any social networking profile that you may have.

Do not comment, discuss, or share any information about your incident, injuries, treatments, etc.

Do not discuss your current activities and locations, for this information can show exactly where you are and what you’re doing at any time.

Remove any photos or posts that may be questionable or incriminating

Do not accept any requests from people who you are unfamiliar with, as well as remove any friends or followers you don’t know or trust.

The internet isn’t an entirely secure place, so be cautious on information you share about yourself. There have been numerous occasions where a person filing for a personal injury insurance claim has lost to their opposing counsel for disclosing information that contradicts their claim. Sometimes, it may not seem what you’re posting will do any harm, but someone may take it the wrong way.

If you are unsure about the privacy policies or settings on your social networking profile, you should ask someone you trust to explain how these things work. Of course, with any personal injury case, you should retain the services of a personal injury attorney who can help you through the entire personal injury claim process.