How Social Media Websites Can Impact Your Personal Injury Case

The lawyers of Worby Vecchio Edelman, LLP offer expert legal counsel in White Plains, proving time and again why they are a leading and well-regarded personal injury law firm in the region. They offer excellent counsel to clients, which now often involves advice on how to manage online information for certain cases.

Since this matter has come up a fair amount in recent years, we'd like to discuss how social media can affect your persona injury lawsuit and what you can do to help prevent issues and roadblocks as your pursue a legal claim.

Privacy and the Internet: How Things Have Gotten More Difficult

We often see stories on the news about data breaches, hacking, and personal information being leaked. As we're getting more and more reliant on mobile devices and the cloud, these are major concerns that should make us feel concerned about our safety and our privacy.

Obviously issues with hacking and doxxing are worth considering in a personal injury case since certain kinds of privileged information may wind up in the wrong hands. However, when it comes to social media, sometimes a person's own worst enemy is themselves.

The Potential Impact of Your Social Media Posts

If you're posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest, or Google+, there's an impulse to share what's going on in your life. Sometimes there's a chance of oversharing, however. In such cases, a lengthy post or a photo may disclose more information than you intended, which can be ruinous to your personal injury lawsuit.

For example, say that you suffered a serious slip or fall at a local hotel that has led to serious injury of your leg and spine, affecting your mobility. If a photo or video appears of you hopping around and appearing otherwise mobile, it could undermine the perceived legitimacy of your case. There might be context to consider, as there is for any photo or video, but an image without context can be damning enough.

Others May Use Your Social Media Presence Against You

In addition to problems with oversharing, there's the potential of other parties using your social media to get personal information from you. They might go on LinkedIn, for instance, and look at your employment history. They might even reach out to current and past associates and try to get information about you through them.

This combination of problems means legal clients have to be smart about their social media presence.

Tips for Protecting Your Case Through Smart Social Media Practices

To protect yourself from undermining your personal injury case, keep these simple tips in mind:

• If You're Hesitant to Post Something, Don't Post It – The moment you think "maybe I shouldn't post this" is the moment that you should definitively not post something. Be safe and be cautious.

• Ask Loved Ones to Not Post About You Unless They Ask Permission – You friends and family will understand if you ask them to respect your privacy. It could mean a lot to your case.

• Set All of Your Social Media Sites to Private If Possible – If you can adjust privacy settings, try to make sure that only the people in your network are able to see your page and your updates.

Keep in mind that taking a break from social media is always a good idea, especially when you have something as important as a legal case to consider.

Speak with the Attorneys of Worby Vecchio Edelman, LLP

If you would like more information about proper decorum and actions to take during a lawsuit, be sure to contact our personal injury law firm today. The lawyers of Worby Vecchio Edelman, LLP will guide you through each stage of the legal process.