For better or for worse, social media seems to be here to stay. While there are undoubtedly benefits to being able to connect to others around the world, there are also drawbacks, including situations like the recent fatal distracted driving accident that a woman livestreamed on TikTok.

When it comes to personal injury claims, social media can sometimes be helpful as a way to show the impact of your accident. More often, social media can be used to undermine your claim. As experienced Simpsonville personal injury attorneys, our general rule of thumb for clients is to avoid social media as much as possible after a car accident or other type of injury.

At Brooks Derrick Accident and Injury Lawyers, we are fierce advocates for clients who have been injured in all types of accidents. We offer free initial consultations and never charge a fee unless we recover money for you. Reach out to our law firm today to schedule an appointment with a member of our legal team.

Can Social Media Posts Be Used in Court?

To understand how social media can affect your South Carolina personal injury case, it is first important to understand a bit about the rules of evidence. Generally, social media posts will be admissible if they are relevant to an issue in your case and can be authenticated. To authenticate a social media post, the party seeking to introduce it would have to prove that the post was made by your account, and/or that the words, photographs, or videos in the post were your own.

Social media posts may be relevant to your personal injury case in a number of different ways. For example, if you claim to have a debilitating back injury from a slip and fall, but post-vacation photos showing you skiing, the other side (defendant) might introduce those pictures to prove that you have exaggerated your claimed injuries. 

Anything that you say about your case would likely be relevant as well. If you post on Facebook about how you were speeding at the time of the accident, the defendant’s attorney may very well use that statement against you.  Any type of commentary about the claim itself, even complaining about the insurance adjuster, could potentially show up in the courtroom.

Keep in mind that if you have already made posts about the accident or your case, you should talk to your Simpsonville personal injury lawyer before deleting those posts. Depending on where you are in litigation, deleting old social media posts could be considered destruction of evidence. That could lead the court to make a ruling against you that ends up hurting your case even more.

The smarter course of action is to avoid posting anything on social media while you have a personal injury case pending. Even if you think that your profile is locked down, you never know if one of your friends or followers will take a screenshot of your posts. Once you put something on the internet, you lose control over what happens to it, so be extremely careful about anything that you post online during this time.

How Social Media Can Help or Hurt Your Personal Injury Claim

It is possible for social media to help your personal injury claim. While it is more unusual for social media posts to be beneficial, it is possible for a post to provide proof of the incident or its impact on your life.

For example, consider a situation where a woman causes a drunk driving accident. Unfortunately, the police do not arrive at the scene, and she ultimately isn’t charged with driving under the influence. However, through careful investigation, your personal injury lawyer finds some photos from that same evening where she is tagged. 

In the pictures, the woman is doing shots with friends. In this situation, these pictures can be used to establish that she was driving under the influence at the time of the accident. Even if the posts wouldn’t be enough to support a criminal conviction, they could be useful in proving your personal injury case.

Your own social media posts could also be used to show the extent of your injuries and how they affect your life. If you post photos or videos of your slow progress at physical therapy, for example, or talk about how you still have a lot of pain, that could be used as evidence to support your demand for compensation. In a way, it is like a diary of your recovery.

In most cases, however, social media is used to undermine an accident victim’s claims. This can happen in several different ways, including:

• Reducing damages: A plaintiff in a personal injury case is often under a microscope. Any social media posts that show you going about your daily life can become evidence for a defense lawyer who wants to prove that you are either faking your injuries or the extent of your injuries. For example, if you claim that you cannot participate in physical activity due to a herniated disk from a car accident, social media posts that show you on a hike or surfing could be used to challenge the veracity of your claims. Similarly, they may be used to attack claims of emotional distress if your social media posts appear “happy.” While most of us know that social media posts aren’t necessarily accurate, it can be hard to convince a jury that you have significant pain and suffering if your Instagram account is full of photos of you living your best life.
• Attacking timelines: Social media posts and check-ins may be used by a savvy insurance adjuster to prove that your timeline does not make sense. For example, if your lawsuit alleges that your injuries have prevented you from working or attending social events, your social media updates may contradict that claim if they show you living an active social life. The defense will exploit any alleged inconsistencies to reduce the value of your claim.
• Gaining insight: Any posts about your case can potentially be used by defense attorneys to learn more about your case. For example, if you vent your frustrations with a legal strategy that your lawyer wants to use, the other side might dig into that to find a way to get you to settle the case for less than full value.

If you are involved in a personal injury case, there are steps that you can take to protect yourself when it comes to social media. This includes:

• Adjust your settings so that all of your profiles are set to private. You should also limit the ability of anyone to tag you in a post, as even a seemingly innocent post could potentially be used against you.
• Limit or stop posting. While your case is pending, the best course of action is to avoid posting anything at all on social media. Even things like a photo of your family smiling together at the holidays could be used to “prove” that your injuries are not as serious as you claim.
• Never discuss your case online, in any forum. Anything that you say online or to people other than your Simpsonville personal injury lawyer could potentially be used against you.

If you want to keep a record of your injuries and recovery, do so offline. Keep a notebook where you document how you are feeling each day. You can share this with your attorney, but there is little risk that it will end up being used against you.

If you have questions, you should talk to your lawyer about social media strategies. They will likely advise you to stop posting altogether. While this may seem like a big sacrifice, it is a temporary pause that can protect your rights and help you get a full recovery for your injuries.

Reach Out Today for a Free Consultation

Social media can be great, but it also has its downsides. This is particularly true when it comes to legal matters. If you are involved in a personal injury case, you should avoid social media as much as possible.

Based in Simpsonville, Brooks Derrick Accident and Injury Lawyers represents clients who have been hurt in different types of accidents. We are fierce advocates, working hard to help our clients get the best possible outcome for their case. Reach out to our law firm at 864-531-7765 or fill out our online contact form to schedule an appointment with a Simpsonville personal injury lawyer.