Can Your Social Media Use Hurt Your Personal Injury Claim in Florida?
The vast majority of Americans have at least one social media account on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or any other platform. People use social media to stay in touch with their family members and friends and share details about their own lives.
If you were a victim of a car accident in Miami or other parts of Florida, it might be tempting to share details about your incident and keep your friends informed of your condition and recovery through social media. Some people even post photos and videos taken at the scene of their car crash as well as pictures of their injuries.
However, what many do not understand is that social media can damage their personal injury claim. Revealing any details about your crash or personal injury case on social media may not be the best idea. Doing so can negatively affect the outcome of your personal injury claim in Florida.
Why Posting on Social Media After a Car Accident Can Hurt Your Claim
Generally, it is not advised to post anything to social media following a car crash. It is best to keep your social media use to a minimum while your personal injury case is pending. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters may use the information found in your social media posts to deny or undervalue your claim.
Social media use refers to posting anything on the Internet and online platforms such as:
- TikTok
- Snapchat
- YouTube
- Medium or other blogs
It is advised to exercise discretion when posting anything online following an auto accident in Florida. While it might be tempting to tell your followers about the crash or share details about your injury on social media, doing so could hurt your personal injury claim.
Setting Your Social Media Profile to Private vs. Deleting It
While your personal injury claim is pending, you might want to consider setting your social media profile to private or even deleting it altogether. However, setting your account to private would most likely not help because other people, including the insurance adjuster and defense lawyer, may still be able to gain access to your social media posts.
Also, the problem with social media is that other people can post things about you and tag you. If any inconsistencies are found in a social media post about your car accident claim or injury, the insurance company or the opposing party is likely to use that information against you to discredit your claim.
If evidence to discredit your personal injury claim exists, the court is likely to order you to turn over the social media data related to the accident. Anything you post online is available publicly to anyone. In fact, deleting posts, statuses, photos, or videos after sharing them is even worse because you could be accused of destruction of evidence.
If you are accused of destruction of evidence or have questions about how social media use could affect your personal injury case in Florida, speak with our skilled Miami car accident attorneys at Pita Weber Del Prado. Contact our lawyers by calling at 305-670-2889.
