In our ever-connected world, social media outlets have become a huge part of our everyday lives. Some people depend on these outlets for everything from communication to news to valuable information.
As we become more comfortable with these online spheres, we also elect to share more personal details that we may not have once been so willingly open to discuss in public spaces, including details regarding a workers’ compensation case. In these instances, what you say could be a serious liability to your legal standing and even work against you in your case. Our Sacramento workers’ compensation lawyers explain.
How Social Media Hurts Your Claim
We tend to share a lot over social media, including our personal thoughts, ideas, and even pictures or videos of our daily lives. Sharing this information regarding your work injury could potentially work against you if the information online disputes the facts you present to your employer.
For example, if you claim to have an arm or wrist injury as a result of your job, but then soon after post pictures of yourself playing tennis, your employer will likely take that as a sign that your arm is not truly hurt and reject your claim.
Likewise, even though you may have your profiles all set to “private,” it’s pretty easy for your employer or their insurance company to access your posts and see what you have been saying regarding your case.
Before hitting the “share” button, it’s a good practice to consider how this post could be twisted and used against you and your case in the worst possible way. If that could cause your case to be denied, then it’s better to not post it.
In fact, it’s best to avoid posting anything at all for the duration of your case, if you can help it. This will limit the amount of evidence your employer could gather against you and allow your attorney to do their job to the best of their ability.
How Social Media Can Help Your Claim
If you do tend to document and share many things, then you may have snapped a photo of your accident and shared it to your Facebook or Twitter profile. While this could hurt you if the information doesn’t match your claim, it could also help your case if it verifies the facts stated in your claim. Therefore, if you have posted anything regarding your injury to your social media profiles, you should tell your attorney about them and discuss whether or not they could be used as evidence to support your claim and get the compensation you are entitled to.
How a Lawyer Can Help
If you have been injured on the job, Smolich and Smolich are here to help. Our Sacramento workers’ compensation attorneys have provided top-quality representation to injured workers since opening our doors in 1969. We are firm believers in one-on-one attention and individually tailoring our counsel to our clients’ exact needs in order to help them through some of life’s most difficult events. We handle every case with the utmost professionalism, empathy, and genuine compassion, and we are motivated to see you find the successful and beneficial outcome to your case you are seeking.
Contact Smolich and Smolich today and let us review your case starting with a free consultation.