Forbes Advisor reported that 100,508 motor vehicle accidents occurred in New York in 2022. Out of those 100,508 accidents, 37,848 resulted in death or injury. Motor vehicle accidents sometimes result in personal injury claims when victims seek compensation for their damages. Social media use during this time can hurt your case, so you might want to avoid it.
Case protection
It’s generally not wise to share details of an ongoing case with the public. You have little control over who sees what on social media. Posting case details on platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, can do more harm than you realize.
People can also misinterpret or misreport things that you say online. An insurance company can possibly find your social media and use the information to discredit your case.
Evidence of a false claim
An estimated 10% to 20% of insurance claims are false. Insurance companies are often weary when victims file personal injury claims following motor vehicle accidents. The insurance company in your case will do what it can to confirm your injury, and this includes searching your social media for signs of fraud.
You can share something on social media that seems to discredit your injury. For example, you might share a short video of yourself on a vacation cruise. An insurance company may point to that video as proof you’re faking your back injury.
Sharing something as simple as a story about what happened when you took the garbage out can insinuate you’re not injured. There are several ways that social media posts can get taken out of context.
Consider avoiding social media until after your personal injury case is complete. If you enjoy social media too much to take a break, perhaps you can strengthen your privacy settings. However, if you do change your privacy settings, still carefully consider the possible consequences of sharing certain information.