After a catastrophic injury, social media allows you to stay connected with friends and family. However, a photo, comment or check-in can show only one moment and leave out the pain and suffering you experience, the assistance you need or the recovery time afterward.
During a Pennsylvania injury claim, the other side may request relevant social media posts before trial. Privacy settings alone might not prevent the other side from requesting and obtaining relevant posts.
These five mistakes can create unnecessary questions about your injuries and recovery:
1. Posting activities without context
A photo from a family event or outdoor activity may not show that you needed help, used a wheelchair, cane or other mobility aid or experienced pain afterward. An insurance company could use the image to question how much the injury affects what you can do.
2. Discussing the accident or treatment
Comments written from memory may differ from your medical records or what you later say about the accident. Posts about fault, symptoms or recovery could also give readers an incomplete or inaccurate impression of what happened.
3. Accepting unfamiliar connection requests
A request might come from someone seeking access to information that is not public. Limiting connections to people you know can reduce the number of unfamiliar people who can view your personal posts.
4. Ignoring tags and check-ins
Friends or relatives may post photos, tag you or identify places you visited. Those posts can create the same questions as content shared from your own account.
5. Deleting or changing existing posts
Removing content after a claim begins may raise questions about whether you deleted information relevant to the case. Editing or deleting older posts can also make the review of your online activity more complicated.
Review your online activity during an active claim
A social media post may not show the medical care, assistance or setbacks involved in your recovery. Before sharing something new, consider how it could appear to someone who does not know the full circumstances. Paying attention to posts, tags and connection requests can help you stay in touch with others without creating avoidable questions about your catastrophic injury claim.
