Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tinder, Vine, You Tube, etc. Social media is out there in all forms and people are using it daily as they document their lives to their friends and strangers alike.
If you are making a claim for injuries you sustained as a result of someone’s negligence you need to be aware of how that post can be used.
Courts and judges all across the country have been inconsistent in their rulings on whether Facebook posts are a proper area of inquiry:
- Some courts have ruled that there is a distinction between public and non-public posts and that those posts and pictures that are available to the public are discoverable.
- While other courts have stated that no posts whatsoever should be made available to the other side.
- Courts have ruled that the whole of an individual persons Facebook page was discoverable and should be turned over.
Now to be fair, each court decision above was based on the specific facts relevant in each individual case. The larger point here is that when you are seeking recovery for injuries you have sustained because of someone’s negligence, your social media posts can make a difference. Any defendant, whether they are a corporation, an insurance company or an individual, will go to great lengths to show that you are not as badly hurt as you claim.
Sometimes they hire private investigators to take videos or sometimes they subpoena your credit card statements to show the big trip you took to Hawaii. Facebook and the other social media allow the defendants to let you do their investigation work for them.
You need to be careful about what you post. You need to be careful about the photos and videos you upload. You need to think through what you are doing. You don’t want to hurt your case and its value by posting to social media in a way that questions the reality of your injury.
To find out more information about how to overcome the dangers of social media posts, contact Vinkler Law.
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