Personal Injury Lawyers in Cleveland Share Five Ways Social Media Can Hurt Your Claim October 21, 2012.

Avid user of Facebook? Twitter? What you could post or tweet could put your personal injury claim in serious jeopardy.

Be Cautious of Who Can Access Your Social Media Accounts

Many social media users aren’t aware or don’t bother to limit who has access to their profile and the information they post to their account. This means that insurance adjusters and lawyers can easily find you and see what you’ve been posting. Don’t think, however, that changing your privacy settings will protect you. There are still ways to retrieve your information.

Be Careful What You Post to Your Account

Another sneaky way social media can undermine your case is through the pictures and videos you post. It can look like you aren’t injured at all or that your injury isn’t as bad as you have claimed.

Even if you decide to post an old picture or video, perhaps from a trip you took last summer, there may not be a date stamp to show when you actually went. So if the photo or video shows you engaging in an activity that could be misconstrued and depict you as lying or exaggerating your injuries, this could be very damaging.

It’s not just what you post online that could hurt your claim. If others post a picture and tag you in it, the photo could also be used against you in very much the same way as mentioned above. You should immediately un-tag yourself and ask your friends not to tag you in anything.

Choose Your Social Media Words Carefully

Social media can appear to be a safe way to complain about your accident, but your words could come back to haunt you. For example, if you post a status update about being involved in an accident, but quickly assure everyone that you are okay, it may be used against you later if you try to make a personal injury claim to recover compensation for your injuries.

The best thing you can do is say nothing about the accident, your injuries, insurance, etc. In fact, your personal injury attorney at Cleveland’s Mellino Law Firm, LLC might consider severely limiting your time using social media or avoid it altogether.

Be Aware of Your Online Presence

Finally, you need to remember that the insurance company’s goal is to reduce their payout or see your claim denied. It is not uncommon for insurance adjusters or attorneys to do a search online by simply typing your name into Google.

This means any accounts or blogs you have used in the past, even accounts that you believe no longer exist, could still have information out there. Social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and MySpace could contain information you have posted or is about you. If you are unsure of whether a particular account or post may harm your case, ask your personal injury lawyer in Cleveland for advice regarding how to handle it.

Seeking Help from Personal Injury Lawyers in Cleveland, Ohio

Using social media wisely could make a difference in any future claims you may pursue. Be sure to make access to your account private, but still treat everything you post to social media, or allow others to post about you, as if it were going to be seen by the insurance company. Think before you post.

Personal injury cases can be complicated, with lots of obstacles that may get in the way of receiving the compensation you may deserve. If you have been seriously injured, don’t try to fight your claim on your own. Call our law firm at (440) 333-3800.