How Social Media Can Hurt
a Personal Injury Lawsuit
CAN SOCIAL MEDIA HURT MY LAWSUIT?
It depends. If you haven’t been posting information about your case, such as status updates and pictures, then you probably don’t have anything to worry about. However, this isn’t the case for some people, and social media can actually hurt their lawsuit. You typically don’t post pictures of yourself lying on the couch, sleeping, or doing nothing at all. Instead, you post pictures when you’re out with friends, on vacation, outdoors, at parties, or at social functions. So, if you’re claiming that you suffered a serious back injury after a slip and fall, but you just posted a picture of yourself skiing on vacation, there could be some questions in the minds of the opposing counsel and jury. There might be plenty of legitimate explanations for why you were out skiing that day, but do you really want to roll the dice and explain the ski trip in front of a jury?
In addition to photographs, other things you post can also hurt you in court — if they’re admissible, of course. Posts that reflect poorly on your character aren’t always admissible in a personal injury lawsuit. Although these are just hypothetical examples, there have been cases in which social media has impacted a personal injury case, such as in Nucci v. Target Corp.
If you’re involved in a personal injury lawsuit, it’s important that you avoid using social media as much as possible while your lawsuit is pending. Also, consider pulling your existing social media sites down entirely, at least while your lawsuit is in progress. If you insist on maintaining an active social media presence during your lawsuit, make sure you carefully monitor what you post and what other people post about you.
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