Social media is a great platform for sharing information and keeping in touch with friends and family, but many times people tend to overshare details. Oversharing on social media can be dangerous for Personal Injury Plaintiffs. The statements you make online can be taken out of context and potentially hurt your case and your settlement amount could take a hit. There are a few things to keep in mind when using social media while you’re a plaintiff. Here are some dos and don’ts for using social media while settling a Florida personal injury case.
Do Keep Using Social Media
Just because you’re in the middle of a personal injury claim doesn’t mean you need to cut yourself off from your friends and family on social media. You can still look at updates on your friend’s and family’s feeds, check out the latest gossip, or dive into whatever groups you normally do on social media. The trouble comes down to what you post. Lawyers actively check social media when building their case, so keep that in mind when you use social media.
Don’t Post About Your Case
When using social media, it’s best to have your account set to private while dealing with a personal injury case. This makes it harder for outside parties to sift through your newsfeed or posts looking for ways to discredit your case. Even with privacy settings enabled though, it is best to just not discuss the case at all on social media. The less information you divulge on social media the better. Anything you discuss with your lawyer is confidential, but if you make it public through social media then you’ve just breached confidentiality. This essentially means that any information you’ve posted is fair game for the other attorney to use against you.
Do Advise Others Not to Discuss Your Situation
While you might do a fine job of keeping the details of your case off of social media, friends and relatives might not. Advise your friends and relatives to keep anything you mention to them about your case or recovery to themselves and off of social media. Posts made by friends and family about your case could do just as much damage if not more. They don’t know the ins and outs of your case like you do, so any misinformation they post could potentially hurt your case.
Don’t Post Updates on Your Recovery
Notifying friends and family about your recovery progress seem like it would almost be second nature, and you’re free to tell your friends and family about how you’re feeling, just do it over the phone and not on social media. DIscussing treatments, your recovery status, and other details could hurt your case if taken out of context. This could hurt your case and diminish your settlement amount.
Don’t Post About Physical Activities or Travel
While it should come as no surprise, posting about physical activities will hurt your case. The whole point of your Florida personal injury claim is that you can’t perform physical activities. Also, avoid posting anything related to travel or vacationing. Anything that alludes to you having a healthy lifestyle or activities that you would normally not be able to do while injured will certainly make people skeptical about the validity of your case.
When in Doubt, Don’t Post
It can be hard to determine what may or may not hurt your case. If you have any doubts whatsoever, it’s better to err on the side of caution. Your silence can not be used against you, so it’s best to say nothing at all and remain silent throughout your claim.
Do Search For Yourself Online
You’d be surprised how much information is publicly available online. Do a quick search on yourself using a few search engines and see what information does come up. If there are any results that might throw the validity of your claim into question, discuss these with your lawyer and determine the best course of action to take. These could be older posts, pictures posted by friends and family, or other comments or statements regarding your injuries or your situation.
Do Search For The Other Party
If your injuries were the result of a car accident or negligence of another party, it might also be a good idea to do a search on them as well. What they are saying about the case might give you a bit of insight on what to expect in court, as well as help your lawyers further strengthen your case.
Do Discuss Social Media Strategies With Your Lawyer
Florida Personal Injury Plaintiffs have just as much of a responsibility as their lawyer to not disclose pertinent information about the case. If you aren’t used to restraining yourself on social media or filtering what you post, you may want to discuss some strategies with your attorney as to how you should continue using social media. Your attorney may recommend simply reading and only replying to posts made by others, staying on topic, and not discussing the case. Alternatively, if you have a tendency to overshare details your attorney may just advise you to stop using social media altogether.
Do Consider Geolocation When Posting
Many social media platforms come with geolocation or tracking, meaning that they pick up on where you are when you post and sometimes share your general location. If you’re supposed to be bedridden or only able to go out to see your physician, it might seem a bit odd if you make a post near the beach or out shopping in a mall. Be smart about not only what you post but also where you post.
Personal Injury Plaintiffs have a lot to keep track of when it comes to social media, and it can be tough to juggle it all. If you have a personal injury claim, contact a personal injury attorney to help you through the process and best advise you on how to properly use social media while dealing with the ongoing case.
