In today’s society, social media is practically inescapable. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or Pinterest, people are sharing intimate details of their personal lives with family, friends and sometimes even complete strangers!
However, there is such a thing as sharing too much information on social media. One instance of this is people who post about their car accidents.
Too often, car accident plaintiffs are denied a claim based on something they posted on social media. For instance, some individuals will tell their insurance company that they will be out of work for several weeks due to pain from an accident. And yet, when the insurance agent searches social media (which they frequently do) they find a posted picture of the person out of the house and enjoying their time off!
Below are tips and suggestions on how to use social media cautiously pending an injury claim. Before ever reporting your accident to your insurance company, you may want to consider the following information:
- Set your privacy settings to where only friends and family can see your posts. If you do not, then complete strangers (including the insurance investigator) can see what you post. Lawyers and insurance companies may even try to use information about when you posted to see whether you were active on social media when behind the wheel.
- Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know. If your insurance agent or adjuster sends you one, by no means accept it!
- Look over all of your past social media activity thoroughly. Make sure to remove any posts or pictures of anything that could be held against you regarding your accident.
- DO NOT discuss your car accident on social media. Even offhand comments can be taken and used against you in a lawsuit.
If you have been injured or involved in a car accident, refrain from posting any details about what occurred on social media. Instead, contact our experienced Colorado car accident attorney Mack Babcock for a free consultation. He and his skilled legal team can help guide you through all of the legal issues involving your accident.