So, you’ve just been through an accident, and you’ve filed a compensation claim for your injury to your insurance provider. You might be tension-free thinking that your compensation lawyers will be taking care of your case while you take rest and recover. Or, just go into social media and look into what’s happening, post a tweet or two and love react every post on Instagram.
Well, using social media won’t affect you and your case, right?
Sorry to say, it can be a deadly weapon that your insurance provider’s lawyers can use to deny you your claims. How, you might ask?
Why Social Media Is A Big No-No After An Accident
Social media has become a ubiquitous part of our digital lives. We all love to share the special moment of our lives with our friends, family, and everyone around us. The idea of sharing these moments, sharing funny or knowledgable content or just venting our frustrations to the whole world may seem very satisfying.
What we fail to realize is that social media platforms can be used as a deadly weapon against us.
This is because when you’re filing for a compensation claim following an accident, and then you post pictures where you’re partying with your friends, or you’re at the gym leading a normal life, there may be questions on your claims. They might come to the conclusion that you didn’t experience a severe accident, regardless of your situation while posting the pictures.
It’s also that all of your activities, both offline and online, will be under heavy scrutiny. This is mainly because the other personal injury lawyers will be on the lookout for any possible evidence as to deny your claim.
So, what should you do?
Guide On Using Social Media After An Accident
Up until now, we’ve told you how your insurance provider’s lawyers might track all your activities online. But, what should you actually do to steer clear of any possible trouble? Here are some things that you can try!
1. Don’t Post Anything About The Accident
After facing an accident, you might be tempted to let your friends and family know about this. However, this is a terrible idea. Do not post anything about the accident and never comment on anyone’s injury and or what kind of treatments you’re getting or how you got saved. This is mainly because the court can argue on the fact that you were not in a bad position/situation because you were able to post this on social media.
2. Ensure No One Else Posts About It
Just because you’re not posting anything about the accident doesn’t mean that your friends and family are being silent. They might be concerned about you or might express their anger towards the driver. Make sure that no one posts about the incident online or no one tags you in their posts. If someone does post it, ask them to remove it.
3. Taking A Break From Social Media Platforms
The best thing you can do is to take a break from using social media after an accident that you’ve encountered. Make sure that you don’t show much presence until the case has been settled. This is highly recommended by us because any photo or post you share might be used against you. Your post might seem very innocent, but the insurance companies know exactly how to refute your claims!
This is why you should take a break from all social media platforms just to be on the safer side.
Note: Taking a break doesn’t mean deleting your accounts. This might indicate fraudulent behavior!
4. Set Your Privacy Controls
Nowadays, most social media platforms enable custom privacy controls. Use those to make sure you’re making your personal profile visible to those whom you want. Use tag reviews, profile lock, and other measures to secure your profile. Be very cautious if you receive a friend request from someone who has no mutual friends or whom you don’t know!
5. Do Not Delete Anything
After reading all these, you might feel like deleting your profile and all the accident-related posts. However, this might have detrimental effects on your case. This is mainly because the personal injury lawyers might have it screenshotted and present those as a piece of evidence as to you’re hiding something from the court. You might not want to hide something, but the insurance companies know exactly how to extract information from the usage of social media after an accident!
So, leave your posts just as it is. Change your privacy and make sure no unsolicited person can access those!
The Bottom Line
Whenever you’re through an accident, it’s better to stay away from social media altogether until you recover and/or receive the compensation from your insurance providers. It will provide you with two things – serene peace where you reflect upon yourself and your relationships, and the personal injury lawyers from your insurance company won’t get much evidence from your social presence. This means that they can’t deny or reduce your claims to any extent.
To start off, you must make sure that you nor any of your friends and family post anything regarding the accident after the incident happened. You can also take a break from all the platforms to show that you’ve had had a bad accident and you’re recovering. Also, tighten up the privacy and don’t delete anything from your profile.
If you feel like you’re not doing it right, you can consult with our expert personal injury lawyers in Alberta. We can help you by guiding you through your claims and ensure that you get the maximum compensation as per your accident!
