Posted in Personal Injury

Car Accident Lawyer

Social Media has had a profound effect on our society, especially from 2005-2015, and has become one of the main ways people across the world stay in contact no matter how many miles apart they are. 

Due to social media being so essential for continuous and daily communication, chat logs can provide a truthful account of daily interactions and conversations between yourself and others. With apps such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, monitoring usage and being cognizant of what is being posted on social media is not taken as seriously. While the profound use of social media has been beneficial for staying connected with news, loved ones, and old classmates and friends, a car accident lawyer stresses that its impact within the legal world cannot be ignored.

Social Media Posts and Evidence

Posting on social media can have a detrimental effect on a  case. It can affect all types of cases such as family and criminal litigation, or even cases involving commercial litigation, intellectual property, product liability and defect, employment, and cases involving negligence and personal injury. Especially due to the lack of restriction on social media profiles, information such as background, current location, credibility, and potentially criminal or illegal activity can be easily accessed and shared, which can harm your claim. During the process of a civil litigation, internet searches for related information may be done on you, as well as witnesses within the case, so caution must be taken with what is posted online. 

If an opposing party’s social media page is not available to the general public, a discovery request can be submitted in order for the private social media page to be explored and therefore receive any information that could pertain to the claims and damages within the lawsuit. Words, photographs, and videos, posted within the timespan of your case or not, can all be easily used against you and can thus impact your case. Additionally, social media websites and apps do not owe you an expectation of privacy with posting on their sites, and therefore the most important approach is to be wary of what you post in the first place.

Being careful when posting online is one of the most important things you can do when you are involved in a lawsuit. Content you share may cast suspicions on your version of events or credibility. Posts that may affect your claim can include:

• Pictures or videos showing yourself doing physical activity, going out to a party, or other physically demanding activities which may be deemed suspicious if you had previously claimed you were unable.
• Posts and/or updates in which you claim liability for the accident at hand, partially or fully, which can eventually be brought up in court and make the case more complicated.
• Searching for certain keywords or phrases on the internet which can discredit your claims within the case and can eventually lead to an unfavorable decision. 

Thanks to Eglet Adams for their insight on how social media activity can impact lawsuits.