Personal Injury: Effects of Social Media
BY MALA SHARMA
Social media has become a major factor in determining the value of your personal injury claims! This is a result of the increasing presence of social media in everyone’s lives where sharing experiences through quick posts are simple and easy. However, revealing too much on Facebook may hurt you in the end. Anything you say or post can be twisted in an unfavorable light against you and if you have a pending personal injury claim, you essentially, undermine the value of your case.
That is, when you have been injured in an auto accident, slip and fall, or other incident due to the negligence of a third party, your claim for bodily injuries is filed with the negligent party’s insurance company. Once filed, the at-fault party’s insurance company will assign an adjuster to handle the case and do what they do best: find any way to pay the least amount of money. They will use all tricks in the book to counter and undermine your claim. The adjuster will look at all your social media accounts to search for any post, picture, comment by you that may be interpreted adversely to your bodily injury claims.
For instance, if your personal injury claim includes severe neck pain, traumatic brain injury, physical pain, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment in life, and the adjuster see a picture of you enjoying activities that you would not normally be able to enjoy due to the damages claimed, then this will be used against you to state you are not actually in any pain. Basically, anything posted, stated, or said that contradicts your injuries will be used against you by an insurance company to state you are not injured and therefore entitled to little to no recovery for your damages.
There are many solutions to preventing this social media issue. First, it is advisable to delete any social media account while the claim is pending. If you cannot delete your account, set your profile to private. Although, if litigation pursues on your personal injury case, the insurance company may request a court to grant access to all your social media accounts. As such, it is advisable to not post anything about your accident, no pictures, nor any treatment, nothing relating to the insurance company, no communications with your attorney, nor any communication with others. Also, please let family and friends know to do the same. It is imperative that you contact a qualified personal injury attorney to guide you along this difficult journey and to recover the maximum amount for your damages suffered. Do not let the negligent party or the insurance company get away for the wrong they committed and not pay the complete value of your claim.
About the Author: Mala Sharma has been practicing family law and personal injury with her family at the Law Offices of Sharma & Associates, founded in 1997. Mala has been appointed leadership roles for the American Bar Association GP Solo and GP Solo YLD division, is Board member of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association, Past President of the Houston Northwest Bar Association, and prior board member of the South Asian Bar Association. She is also a member of the Houston Bar Association.
Mala Sharma has been selected to the 2019 Texas Rising Stars by Super Lawyers. Mala has also been selected as 10 Best Attorneys by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorney for 2018-2019, Top 40 Under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers for 2018-2019, and Texas Top 10 Personal Injury Attorney by Attorney and Practice Magazine for 2019.
This material is available for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. If you require advice or assistance, you may contact her at office number 281-893-8644 or by email at mala@sharmalaws.net to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.