Whether you’ve filed a workers’ compensation claim, are planning to file a personal injury lawsuit or you’re in a position to seek both workers comp benefits and personal injury damages, it’s important to stay off of social media until your legal situation is fully resolved.
“Wait, what?” you may be saying. “I use social media all the time!” Most American adults do. And because insurance companies and lawyers alike are aware of how addicted most adults are to their screens – and social media by extension – chances are good that interested parties are going to repeatedly scroll your social media account(s) in search of evidence that they can use against you.
If you can’t stay off entirely
Perhaps you use social media for your business or on behalf of an employer. Perhaps you just can’t bring yourself to cut yourself off from certain information in this way. If so, you’ll just want to take extreme care when posting anything until your matter has concluded.
Say that you post a picture of you playing with your dog in your backyard. The picture was taken before you were injured, but an attorney or a workers’ compensation claims adjuster has no way of knowing that. They may try to use this picture as evidence that you’re not really as hurt as you claim to be. Even if you ultimately clear up that the picture was taken pre-injury, that single post could delay your ability to receive rightful compensation.
Staying off social media can be tough. However, the stakes of your situation are likely high enough that making this effort is worth your energy.