7 Ways to Protect Your Case from Social Media Ruin During a Personal Injury Trial
In today’s society, it seems like social media sites are popping up all over the place, whether it’s a new social networking tool, photo sharing site, or something else entirely. Unfortunately, with it comes the use of these social media networks in all aspects of life, including the courtroom. It’s being used in criminal law, divorce court, and most frequently, personal injury cases.
Take a woman in the Midwest, for example, who sued over faulty office equipment. She claimed to be bedridden due to injuries sustained, but an <a href="http://www.accidents.com/">injury attorney</a> involved in the defense found Facebook photos that showed her smiling in front of her home.
If you find yourself as the plaintiff in a personal injury case, it’s important you protect yourself when it comes to your online presence. Luckily, there are many things you can do:
Disable your blog – All blog posts are searchable and can be used against you in the courtroom. If you feel any content you have is incriminating, disable your blog immediately.
Disable your Facebook account – Disabling your account will help protect you the most, but we realize that’s not always possible, given the number of companies and organizations that rely on Facebook as a mode of communication. If you can’t disable it:
Limit your profile – Check your security settings to make sure people can’t search for you and that only your Facebook friends can view your profile.
Delete old photos and updates – If there’s anything on your Facebook profile – including photos, status updates, and notes – that you feel could be incriminating to you, take them down right away.
Watch your status updates – This goes for Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, etc. Before you make an update, ask yourself, “Who will see this? Could it be used against me?” If there’s even a remote possibility of that, it’s better not to post it.
Monitor friends’ activity – Be mindful of what your friends are posting. This includes comments, photos of you, location check ins, etc. On Facebook, it’s possible to change your settings so no one can include you in check-ins or tag you in photos.
Search yourself – Spend some time searching for yourself on Google in both images and web. If you find any content that may be harmful to your case, delete it or ask the site administrator to get rid of it.
Although these steps may seem extreme, they’re necessary to protect yourself during a personal injury case. Taking into consideration even a few of these can help increase the odds that a case will go in your favor. For more ideas and recommendations, check out this <a href="http://www.accidents.com/blog/">accident injury blog</a>.
