The Top 4 Social Media Mistakes After a Car Accident

Your finger hovers over the phone screen. Should you hit that POST button, or should you be cautious? Whether you’re a dedicated social media poster or someone who just likes to keep your inner circle engaged, surviving a car accident is one heck of an update. You’ve got an incredible story to share, and friends and family need to know how you’re doing.

You’re also aware that the wrong kind of post could wreck your car accident claim and complicate your recovery.

Insurance companies do monitor social media. Adjusters are looking for any clue that contradicts your claimed injuries, your account of the crash, or your recovery timeline.

So always try to avoid these top four social media mistakes after a car accident.

One: Posting Status Updates and Injury Details 

Don’t.

Insurance company social media surveillance is a real thing. Any of the following types of posts can damage your claim.

• Any social media post describing, chronicling, or showing your physical condition can be used to contradict medical records.
• A phrase like “I’m doing okay,” “Hanging in there,” or “Feeling better” could be used by an adjuster to minimize your injuries.
• Photos of you looking active, happy, or healthy leave a trail of digital evidence that can be used against you, even if you’re not directly referring to the accident or your injuries.
• Be especially careful with posts you believe are private. These can also backfire and be subpoenaed during discovery if your compensation claim becomes a lawsuit. They can be screenshotted, blown up to poster size, and introduced as evidence.

Remember that the most-used gadget for social media is called a smart phone. Use the phone function to call your closest friends and family if you must update them.

Two: Checking in at Physical Locations or Events 

Location data tracks where you’ve been and when you went there.

To you and your followers, it’s a handy way to keep track of where fun was had and memories made. However, when you’re seeking compensation after a car accident, this information is pure gold to insurance investigators.

Global positioning satellite (GPS) metadata is tightly integrated with social media posts, especially on Facebook and Instagram. This means you—or a friend tagging you—could be sharing this information automatically with each post unless it’s deliberately disabled.

You have a right to enjoy yourself while recovering. Even so, getting tagged at a concert, at a fitness gym, or at a social event while claiming serious injury can be particularly harmful to your case.

Three: Commenting on the Details of the Crash 

Again, don’t.

You might be a shimmering fountain of self-expression and digital snark, with followers waiting on every word. You might have a lot to say about the traumatic car accident you survived: how it unfolded, how a split-second reflex made all the difference, how the most ironic song happened to be playing in that moment.

Keep it to yourself. Here’s why:

• An admission of fault, even a partial one, made online is admissible in litigation
• Any description of the crash that differs from your official statement creates inconsistency, and investigators will pounce
• Expressing anger or ridicule at the other driver can be framed as aggression or bias
• Addressing or responding to comments from the other driver or their insurance company can be especially harmful to your claim.

You need not be seated in a witness chair for any of these statements to be admissible and used against you. It does not matter if you made these posts from your bed at midnight or while eating a taco at 1 p.m.

Social media evidence in these cases carries the same weight as deposition statements.

Four: Deleting Posts or Photos After the Accident 

If you’re regretting past social media posts after reading this far, and feel you should go back and delete them …

Don’t.

Deleting a past social media post or text is not damage control. It’s more like double damage.

The technical term they use is “spoliation of evidence,” and you’d rather not have it used against you. Destruction of evidence implies consciousness of guilt, in addition to being all kinds of damaging to your case. Courts can punish you for spoliation.

In fact, the judge can specifically lean it against you while giving jury instructions.

Besides, anything you want to delete now might already have been screen shotted and saved someplace you can’t reach, an insurance adjuster’s hard drive, for example. The only right move here is to stop posting and speak with your attorney.

Don’t touch anything you’ve already put out there.

Silence Is Your Shield 

If you’ve recently been in an auto accident and are pursuing compensation, digital silence is your shield.

Your social media accounts are not protected during a personal injury matter. The other side will absolutely use them against you, given the opportunity. Use restraint when sharing online, or simply go dark until your case is resolved.

If you have questions about how your online activity could affect your claim, reach out to our team for guidance.