How Insurance Companies Will Use Social Media Against You In An Arizona Accident Claim 

Being in a traffic accident can cause inconveniences across so many areas of your life. Your car could be in the shop, or you may have to go through the hassle of purchasing a replacement vehicle. You might be in and out of medical appointments and have to miss time from work. With all you have going on, monitoring what you post on social media may be the last thing on your mind. But unless you can completely abstain from social media while pursuing a claim against the other driver in your accident, there are some tips you should follow to avoid destroying your claim’s value. Your claim is your one opportunity to financially recover from all that an accident has cost you. Read on for more information on what types of social media posts to avoid during an accident claim- if you’re seeking legal representation for a personal injury claim in the Phoenix or Tucson areas, call 480-833-8000 for your free consultation with our firm. 

Posting Immediately After an Accident

It can be tempting to post online after a serious accident, especially if you feel like you have escaped death. It may even feel necessary to let others know that you are okay. But if you don’t post online that you have been in an accident, only the people you personally tell will know, and the people you don’t tell won’t be anxious to know about your health. For example, if you post “Got in an accident on the beeline today! My car is totaled, but physically, I’m okay. #Blessed,” the other party’s insurance company will probably want to introduce this into evidence. It could be used to prove that your injuries are not as severe as you claim, and thus, your injury award should be lower. Additionally, there are physiological reasons that you might not feel pain from injuries at the scene of an accident, and you may end up in severe pain in hours, days, or weeks after your accident. If you refrain from posting immediately after an accident, there will be no such evidence to introduce. 

“Tags” from Friends

One of the dangers of being active on social media is that your friends can tag you in posts that others can see without your approval. Your timestamps and locations could be highly damaging to your injury claim. For example, if you are supposed to be on bed rest, but your friend tags you in a post about going shopping at Arizona Mills mall, the other side will use this to show you haven’t been following directions from your medical providers. If you aren’t supposed to stand for more than 2 hours, your friend tagging you at a concert could have a similar effect. Not following your doctor’s orders can show that your injuries might not be as severe as you say they are, or that you could be exacerbating them by failing to follow your doctor’s instructions. If you plan on having a social life while pursuing a personal injury claim, ask your friends to ask before posting and tagging you online, or even better, not to do so at all. 

Going Private During a Personal Injury Claim 

When you’re stuck at home with limited mobility, it can be hard to stay away from social media. However, you should turn your profile to private if it isn’t already and set every privacy service to its strictest setting. Don’t ever post anything about your accident or injury claim, and avoid posting altogether if you can. Going dark prevents the risk of posting evidence right into the other party’s hands. 

Even if you have mutual friends, there is always a risk that a random new follower could work for the other party’s insurance company. This could either be a real or fake profile. If you add them as a friend on social media, they will have access to your posts, photos, comments, and more. 

Don’t instantly delete your prior post history and any posts you have made since the accident. In some instances, it may be viewed as spoliation of evidence, and a large gap in your social media timeline can tip off the opposing party that it occurred. Before clearing your social media profiles, ask your attorney what you should do- they may be able to contextualize posts in a defensible way. 

How the Insurance Companies Will Spin Social Media Posts

Insurance companies employ crafty lawyers who can take just about any piece of evidence and find a way to use it in their favor. That’s why it’s generally best to avoid giving them any evidence at all by not posting on social media during your accident claim. Some examples of how the other party might misconstrue your social media posts in court to bring down your claim’s value include: 

• You smile for a group photo at a friend’s graduation party while in the midst of a personal injury claim for a neck injury. The other side’s lawyer argues that you couldn’t have been in serious pain if you were smiling and out on the town with friends. You still receive an injury award, but it might have been higher without that evidence. 
• Your partner posts a photo of you paddleboarding, which was your all-time favorite outdoor activity before the accident. You may have only gone a fraction of your previous distance and had to lie down for hours afterwards, but that’s not what will show in a social media post. The insurance company will use it to argue that you are in a better physical condition than you claim. 
• You break an arm in an accident and are looking for a physical outlet. You take up running while your accident claim is pending, and post your progress on Strava. The other side will present this in court to show that you are healthy enough to engage in outdoor activities and physical exercise. That could significantly reduce how much you are awarded in pain and suffering damages. 

Protect Your Claim’s Value from the Start with Our Arizona Injury Lawyers

When you retain an attorney for your injury claim, the opposing party and anyone else involved in the case are required to contact your attorney about the case, not you. This means that only the communications that are relevant to your claim and beneficial to your interests will get to you. It also eliminates the need for you to complete recorded calls with the insurance company and fulfill other tasks, which, if completed incorrectly, could hurt your claim’s value. You can protect your accident claim from the start without paying out of pocket. Our Arizona injury team charges on a competitive contingency basis, meaning you only pay after we win you an injury award, and at a rate lower than our rivals’. The longer you wait to contact an attorney after being injured in an accident, the more opportunities it creates for your claim to lose value. Give yourself the best shot of success by retaining Arizona’s choice for personal injury representation. Get started today with your free phone consultation at 480-833-8000 for more information.