How Your Social Media Posts Can Weaken Your Auto Accident Case
Stay away from posting on your social media accounts after getting involved in a car crash. It is to keep your case from unfavorable outcomes because of particular details you may unknowingly share publicly.
However, you may wonder how a simple social media post can affect your case.
Can you still post about other things while avoiding posts about the accident?
Read this article to answer your questions and protect your auto accident case.
Why You Should Avoid Posting on Social Media After a Car Accident
Posting on social media after an auto accident may appear harmless for your claim.
However, the other party’s insurance adjuster and a lawyer can cleverly use your posts against you. They can use the posts to:
1. Prove Your Fault in the Accident
California uses the Comparative Fault law in determining who is at fault in an auto accident. The jury will distribute the fault among all parties involved in the car crash. The shared value also determines the compensation liabilities for each party.
That’s why the other party, their insurance adjuster, and their attorney will want to prove that you deserve a higher fault percentage. They may check your social media profiles and find statements that they can interpret as an admission of fault, like:
- “The other vehicle came out of nowhere.”
- “I hadn’t noticed the other car immediately. “
- “I wasn’t able to step on the brakes on time.”
2. Prove Your Injuries aren’t as Severe as You Claim
The other party also wants to prove your injuries are not as severe as you claim in your case. They want to collect evidence that you are recovering faster and better. And your social media accounts can be a good source of those details.
For example, you post a video or picture of yourself while doing exercise routines. The insurance adjuster may argue you are already in good shape, even if your physician had suggested your exercise routines as treatment.
Another example is your posting a social media post or comment like “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine”. The other party may interpret it as evidence that you don’t need further medical support.
3. Prove that it Nullifies the Confidentiality Agreement
Confidentiality protection is essential to keep the details of your case in private records. That means other lawyers and entities cannot access any information about your case.
However, posting about your case on social media sites can nullify the confidentiality agreement because you are making it public.
Consult an auto accident attorney in Glendale to learn more about confidentiality agreements.
What If You Restrict Your Social Media Account Privacy
You now know that it’s hard to avoid social media posts that can damage your case. The other party’s attorney and insurance adjuster can find seemingly harmless statements and interpret them differently.
That’s why you have probably thought of tightening your social media account privacy to keep other people from seeing your posts. For example, you may stop adding random strangers or restrict your profile from people outside your contacts.
The thing is that law enforcement can still access your private account if you are the defendant. The defendant’s lawyer can also ask for permission from the court to access your account if you are the plaintiff. They can even look through your deleted posts.
That’s because of the Stored Communications Act under the Electronic Communication Privacy law. Legal experts can subpoena information on your social media account if necessary.
That means the best solution is to avoid posting anything on your social media accounts while the case goes on. You can even temporarily deactivate your account and only open it back after the case concludes.
Consult a Glendale Auto Accident Lawyer for a Successful Case
Be careful about what you post on your social media accounts after a car accident. You don’t want the other party to get an opportunity to damage your claim.
Hiring an auto accident attorney in Glendale will also help protect your case.