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How social media impacts your personal injury claim

On Behalf of | Oct 21, 2019 | Personal Injury |

Car accidents are extremely dangerous affairs. A Maryland police officer sustained injuries after a four-car crash occurred in Calvert County on October 10th.

After any kind of traumatic event, it is natural that you will want to share everything on social media. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow you to stay in touch with friends and family and let them know about everything. However, social media does not exist in a vacuum. It can come into play during your personal injury claim, so you need to be careful about what you post.

Impact claim of physical injury

Your insurance company may try to get out of paying you as much as you deserve because the agency believes your injuries are not as severe as you claim. Even with a doctor’s statement, the validity of your injuries can come into question, especially if you post on social media about how you feel fine. You may post pictures of yourself out doing physical activities, and the insurance company can bring those photos to the court’s attention.

Impact claim of pain and suffering

You may also try to recover damages of pain and suffering in addition to medical expenses. The car accident may also lead to you developing depression, anxiety or any other loss of enjoyment in life. You may bring up how you have felt depressed lately, but you posted a picture on Facebook of yourself smiling. The insurance company will look for any excuse to get out of paying you, so you need to be cautious about what you post.

Social media counts as the public record

Social media in the United States count toward the public record. Anything you post can come up in court, even if you have high security settings. In the aftermath of a claim, you need to avoid accepting any new friend requests because it could be an insurance adjuster looking to dig up dirt.

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