Don’t Destroy Your Legal Case on Social Media!
Social media is a great place for people to share their ideas and keep in contact, but it can cause serious problems in regards to winning a personal injury lawsuit. You should be compensated what is duly yours for hospital bills, suffering, pain etc. when you are involved in an accident, and the smallest thing you post can destroy your chances.
Take for instance, you were about to be awarded compensation after a lawsuit regarding a car wreck, then the defendant’s attorney brings one of your posts on social media showing you skydiving the previous week while you were on leave from work as a result of injuries. Don’t allow this kind of costly mistake ruin your case. The first thing to do after any injury is to care of yourself and heal. Remember, however, it is wrong to file a lawsuit for ongoing pain and suffering, when in reality there nothing is wrong with you. Your attorney has the responsibility of presenting your case, and back it up with genuine and convincing proof, so don’t give the opposing counsel any opportunity to get information that could hurt what your attorney has presented.
Is it possible to avoid social media?
Clients are always advised by their personal injury lawyers to stay clear from social media, or make it private while the case is still in court. Unfortunately, any post you make on the internet is almost impossible to permanently delete. If eventually you delete the post or make it private, it can still be seen in cached websites or archived sites.
Be paranoid. Have that assumption that there is someone who can and will bring out what you have posted online. Furthermore, it is possible for your opposing lawyer to get a court order known as subpoena which will make getting records of social media directly from Snapchat, Facebook, twitter etc. possible. The court order will charge the social media site to provide your information whether or not you privatize your profile and posts or you deleted your posts recently.
With the current internet marketing age, your work may require social media, and opposing counsel can from your phone get your test messages, phone records and GPS location data using a subpoena. Always be reminded that for every check in at a location on Yelp or Facebook you do, your information can be easily collected by your opposing counsel.
Things that can improve your chances
Stay clear from social media. If you are the type that cannot do without social media, then reduce your posts and privatize your posts as well. Avoid posts that will reduce your chances. Untag yourself from any photo of you. You can ask your friends and family to stop tagging you and stop posting photos of you until the lawsuit is over. One of the things you would not want to see is a harmful photo posted by someone else. All GPS features in your phone should be turned off. Your activities and locations should not be too known. Do not respond to unknown chats and requests.
Don’t reply to any emails requesting your personal information. If you end up providing your personal information, you may be giving people the defense needs against you in the lawsuit. Everything you say or you post will be used against you. The saying should be modified to be what you say or post on social media would be used against you in court. There are a lot of things at stake including your future livelihood and rightful money you deserve. It is not worth losing a case due to social media carelessness.
After the law suit is over, and full compensation for your injury paid, you can then take to social media comfortably. The first thing you do when you are injured in an accident is to get a personal injury lawyer and not post it on Facebook. If you are injured in Nashville or Middle Tennessee, call experienced Nashville TN personal injury attorney Jeff Roberts & Associates, PLLC at (615) 425-4400.
