The Benefits of Keeping Your Injury Offline
Using electronic evidence during court cases is common; however, there have been many changes over the last two decades regarding what all this includes. In more recent years, the conversation of what aspects of social media are admissible in the courtroom has taken over.
Putting nearly every detail of your life online has become a regular part of everyday life. As of 2020, more than 2.9 billion people worldwide are active on Facebook, and this number is much greater when factoring in all channels. Along with this, users share nearly 5 billion posts each day. However, what often gets overlooked is that anything you share on social media can, and likely will, be used against you when undergoing a personal injury claim.
Because of this, there are many benefits to keeping the details of your injury and the situation that caused it offline. Here are a few to consider.
Avoiding Insurance Provider Misinterpretation
One of the biggest benefits of keeping the details of your motorcycle crash offline, or even just avoiding social media altogether while undergoing the claims process, is that you can avoid your posts being misinterpreted by the insurance company and opposing party.
Because one of the primary goals of the insurance company is to find ways not to pay out the compensation that you may deserve, they will look for ways to twist your words and images to make it seem like you're not as injured as represented in your statement. This may include:
- Tagged photos and posts.
- Check ins to places that may undermine your injury severity.
- Comments of people asking how you are doing.
Remember, even just replying “I’m doing well” or “I’m fine” to one of your friends could be the difference in not getting the compensation you justly deserve.
How This Negatively Affects Your Claim
In many cases, the insurance company will knowingly misinterpret these things so that they can devalue your claim or deny it altogether. That's why being conscious and mindful of the details that you are sharing with others online, or that others are sharing about you, is so crucial. Following a severe motorcycle injury, the last thing anyone wants to have is their compensation reduced because of a misinterpreted social media post.
With this in mind, it's not uncommon for injured victims to wonder whether they should be deleting social media posts or pages that may reflect poorly on them. While the Florida Bar Association allows for lawyers to advise their clients to “clean up” their social media presence, it’s always best to ask your attorney first before deleting posts or making your page private.
Focusing on Recovering From Your Injury
Your personal injury claim aside, keeping your motorcycle crash offline gives you the space and time to heal and recover from your injuries without having to worry about anything else going on. Not only does this give you time to adjust to your new circumstances (if you sustained a life-altering injury), but it can offer peace of mind in knowing that you don’t have to answer endless questions from people on your feeds.
Remember, the most important thing to focus on during this time is getting better, and going ghost on social media for a while may make that process smoother.
Questions About Your Claim? Canan Law Can Help.
Even if it feels isolating avoiding social media, you don’t have to go through this process alone. The attorneys at Canan Law are here to be by your side and advocate for your rights every step of the way. To schedule a free consultation with a member of our team, call (904) 849-2266 today or fill out this short form.
