When you are pursuing a personal injury case that is based on the need for short and long-term compensation due to medical complications related to a specific event, you may want to consider putting a hold on your use of social media. Here are two important reasons why you should put your social media usage on the back burner.
#1 Access To Your Social Media Accounts
You may be surprised to learn that what you post on social media can be used in your court case. The defense can request access to your social media accounts, no matter what privacy setting that you have your accounts set on, based on the idea that this is information that you have shared with others. Basically, whatever you say and share on your social media account is a paper record that the defense can request access to.
You can't deny this request. You will be required by the courts to hand over your passwords and access to your accounts.
If you think you can go in and clean up your accounts, think again. The defense can always put forth a court order that requires that company behind the account to provide access to any information that you have removed or access to your account if you don't comply.
That means that the defense can look at and see every message you sent, every comment you post, every tweet you liked, every video and photo that you shared – all of your online social media activity.
#2 Usage Of Your Social Media Accounts
Once the defense has access to your social media accounts, they can then pour over everything that you shared, created or liked and see if any of your activity could be used to bring down your case.
With a case that is based on compensation for medical injuries, they are going to look for evidence of anything that shows that you were faking your injuries or that they were not as severe as you said. If you have been unable to work because of your injures, the defense will look for evidence that you should be capable of working.
For example, if you showed a picture of you planting and digging in your garden, they could use that to show that you are capable of physical labor. Or if you went out inter-tubbing on a boat on the lake, they could use that to show that you are not really experiencing back pain. They could even use your comments and messages to friends about how you are feeling great as evidence that you are in fact in good health and not just trying to be positive about your situation.
If you are dealing with a contentious personal injury case based on medical needs and consequences surrounding an incident, you may want to limit your usage of social media until your case is wrapped up. Contact a company like Prediletto, Halpin, Scharnikow & Nelson, P.S. to learn more.
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