Avoid Social Media After an Accident to Protect Your Claim

There’s a fairly simple way to protect your car accident claim, and it’s by way of social media.

Millions upon millions of people use social media every day to share their thoughts, frustrations, or news. For example, a person might share an image after an unruly accident that wrecked their vehicle and resulted in injuries. It makes sense; that’s what social media is used for.

Social Media Can Ruin Your Accident Claim

To put it plainly: Social media can single-handedly sabotage your personal injury claim after a car accident. Insurance adjusters are prone to perusing social media accounts to look for ammunition to use against you during your claim process. Something you might see as a natural and innocent exchange on your social media accounts can be scooped up by an insurance adjuster and used to devalue your case.

To avoid a slip-up and be best prepared for your case, these are our top recommendations for what not do on social media after a car accident in Indiana.

Temporarily Disable Your Social Media Accounts

Before you ask, we advise against even just making your accounts private. Your social media accounts can easily be subpoenaed and sifted through when it could have been avoided from the get-go. If completely disabling your accounts just isn’t ideal for you, refrain from posting anything about the accident, injury, and claim for the duration of your case.

Don’t Post Photographs

Social media is a space to share your life, but during your personal injury case, share with caution. Avoid posting any pictures of yourself, especially doing any physical activities. A true end-all for your case would be a picture of you performing an activity that is inconsistent with your purported injury.

If you injured your back in a recent car accident, but your one-year-old nephew is in town, and you haven’t seen him in months. You picked him up for a couple of minutes, and a photo was taken. You didn’t hold him for very long because it hurt your back, but a family member posted the photograph of you holding the child and smiling. An insurance adjuster can insist that a truly injured individual wouldn’t put their body through such strain. Even with that one snapshot, they could dispute your claim.

Imagine the insurance adjuster as a shark and your social media account as the bait. Don’t make it any easier for the shark to eat you.

Avoid Tagging

Even tagged photos and statuses are off limits. Tell all of your friends and family to leave you out of statuses, tweets, and pictures. If they forget, un-tag yourself immediately and ask them to remove your name altogether. It’s not their job to keep track of your case, but you can all work together to make your life easier.

Don’t Make Posts or Check-Ins About Your Location

For example, if you’ve suffered a knee injury, avoid a check-in at your local gym—even if you’re utilizing it for physical therapy related to your injury. Everything you do should be consistent with your claim, so be careful.

Don’t Post About Your Claim or Accident

Often, when a case is settled, there is a confidentiality agreement. By posting on social media about the case, you run the risk of breaching the agreement. Again, there’s no need to give adjusters more fuel to the fire to dispute your case.

Even if the case isn’t settled, anything you say about your injury or claim can be used against you. Especially refrain from writing on any blogs; the more detail, the more harm. What may seem innocent to you can wind up being detrimental to your case.

It all comes down to this: Take a breather from social media. Cut back, or—as we highly recommend—stop using it entirely. We understand that completely deleting the primary platform of communication in your life is tough, even if it’s just for a few months. However, the big picture is the only picture you should be focusing on, and that’s winning your case.

Contact an Insurance Attorney Today

If you are struggling to receive compensation from an insurance company, contact the Indianapolis Insurance Attorneys of Wilson Kehoe Winingham. The lawyers at WKW can help you get the compensation you deserve. Call 317.920.6400 or fill out an online contact form for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.

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