Social media is a huge part of our daily lives. The average American spends about 2.5 hours each day checking sites like Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter). Social media sites can help us keep in touch with family, friends, and colleagues. However, using social media after a car accident can hurt your injury claim.
Remember, after an accident, the other driver’s insurance company will be looking for any reason to reduce or deny your claim. Insurers will use anything that you do or say after an accident – including what you post online – to argue that you are entitled to less money than you deserve. Read on to learn about 10 social media mistakes that can hurt your Alabama accident claim.
Mistake #1 – Posting Details About the Accident
At first glance, posting a few details about your accident might not seem like a big deal. However, if the details you post online differ from other reports of the accident in any way, the insurance company will use the inconsistencies to argue that your account of the accident cannot be trusted.
The same goes for even seemingly neutral pictures of the accident. For example, if you told the police that you weren’t sure about the weather but your pictures show that it was sunny, the other driver will use the discrepancy to undermine your case and your credibility.
Mistake #2 – Admitting Fault or Guilt
You probably know that posting, “I caused an accident today,” could hurt your injury claim. However, the statement doesn’t have to be this obvious for the insurance company to use it against you. Insurance companies will use seemingly innocent statements like, “I wasn’t paying attention,” “I never saw them coming,” or “They came out of nowhere,” to argue that you were at fault.
Mistake #3 – Posting About Your Injuries or Medical Treatments
You might think that your injuries cannot be debated. But again, if your social descriptions of your injuries don’t match your medical records exactly, insurance adjusters will jump on the inconsistency. Worse, the other driver’s lawyer could argue that constant posts about injuries are an exaggeration.
Mistake #4 – Posting that You Are “Feeling Fine” or “Recovering Quickly”
As your injuries begin to heal, you’ll eventually start to feel better. But sharing these updates on your progress with your social media followers would be a big mistake. Insurance companies will use statements about a quick recovery to argue that your injuries weren’t all that serious. These posts can also be used to argue that your injuries weren’t all that painful, so there is no need to award you damages for your pain and suffering.
Mistake #5 – Posting About Activities that Contradict Your Injury Claims
No one expects you to stop living your life after an accident. But checking in at the gym or posting gym selfies gives the other driver’s team powerful information. They can argue that a person healthy enough to workout or participate in other strenuous activities didn’t suffer serious injuries.
Mistake #6 – Making Light of Your Injuries
Everyone has a social media persona. If you are known as the “funny friend,” you might be tempted to make jokes about your accident or injuries. But insurance companies won’t see the comedy in your posts. They’ll only see someone whose injuries are so minor that they can find the time to make wisecracks about them.
Mistake #7 – Posting About Your Emotional State
An accident can change your life in many ways. It’s normal to feel frustrated by everything that’s on your plate. But posting too much about your post-accident feelings can lead insurers to claim that you’re overexaggerating your emotional distress. On the other hand, limiting your feed to light and happy posts will give insurance adjusters an opening to argue that the accident didn’t affect your mental state at all.
Mistake #8 – Posting About Vacations, Parties, and Other Outings
You took a great vacation. You attended a fabulous awards banquet. You had an amazing birthday party. You want to share these events with your friends and followers, but you shouldn’t. You may have been smiling through the pain, but the insurance company won’t see it that way. The other driver’s attorney will say that anyone as happy as you appear to be in the pictures doesn’t deserve compensation for pain and suffering or emotional distress.
Mistake #9 – Posting About Your Finances
Think twice before discussing your post-crash money troubles online. Insurers will argue that someone who constantly posts about their financial worries is not motivated by their injuries, but by their finances. Bragging about the money you hope to get once your claim is settled will lead to the same result.
Mistake #10 – Sharing Updates About Your Case
Talking about an ongoing legal case is risky. The other side can use your posts to learn about your legal strategy and come up with ways to counter it. Worse, sharing too much about conversations with your lawyer can destroy the attorney-client privilege.
Bottom Line – Take a Social Media Break After Your Accident
As you can see, insurance companies will use even the most innocent social media posts to attack your injury claim. Although social media is a big part of our lives, staying off of social media after a car accident is the best option. If you simply can’t stay off of social media after your accident, in addition to avoiding the 10 mistakes listed above, be sure to
- Reject any friend or follower requests from unknown persons because they may actually be agents of the other driver’s insurance company or law firm,
- Regularly review the posts of your friends and family to look for problematic posts or pictures,
- Limit your friends’ ability to tag you in posts,
- Avoid using profanity, and
- Use the highest possible privacy settings.
Also, you should NEVER delete any social media posts or accounts after an accident. If you’ve already made some of these mistakes listed in this article, don’t worry. An experienced Alabama accident attorney can help you figure out the best way to overcome any past missteps.
If you have more questions about using social media after an accident or if you need legal help after an accident, contact Collins Law LLC. Our firm’s founder, April H. Collins, has been named one of Birmingham’s best personal injury attorneys. We can assist you with every step of your car accident claim. To learn more about how we can help you, call 205-588-1411 or use our website’s online scheduling tool to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.