Social Media and Your Florida Injury Case

When you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence in Florida, you may have the right to compensation for your injuries, lost income, and other losses. This includes injuries sustained in any type of vehicle accident (on land, sea, or air), from unsafe premises, including hotels and public places, and from animal attacks and product malfunctions. It also includes recreational accidents (such as extreme sports, amusement parks, and other recreational activities widely available in Florida) and medical malpractice.

Whatever the source of your injury, it is critically important that you and your friends and family avoid sharing any information on social media that may jeopardize your case.

Proving negligence

Florida law requires that the plaintiff in a personal injury case prove:

1.       The person or business who caused your injury owed you a duty of care
2.       The person or business was negligent in that duty
3.       You suffered injury or damage that was caused by the breach of duty
4.       The injury or damage can be demonstrated legally 

The plaintiff is the person who brings the lawsuit, and the defendant is the person or business being sued. The defendant will do everything possible to try to disprove any of these four points. If he or she can disprove at least one of them, you do not have a case. The most common way that social media can damage your case is by bringing into question point 3—the degree of your injuries.

How social media can hurt or help your case

People who are active on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, or any other social media account usually enjoy sharing about the events in their lives. So if you’ve been injured, it is understandable that you will want to share about it online. Don’t! You may accidentally damage your chances of getting significant financial compensation for your injuries.

How? Well, suppose you’ve had a serious slip-and-fall accident and severely injured your back. If your family took you out to dinner for your birthday and you were in great pain, but you smiled for a picture that was then put on social media, the defendant’s lawyer could point to that picture and say, “See? The plaintiff is lying about the extent of his injuries because he is out having a good time.”

Other possible problems may include:

• Statements that contradict what you said on record
• Exaggeration or downplaying of your injuries, by words or by pictures (as in the example above)
• Friends and family commenting about your injuries or making statements about what you are doing, which may or may not be accurate. For example, a relative who doesn’t see you often may comment on your job, not knowing that you have not been working since the accident.

You may think that you could help your case by posting pictures of yourself in your injured condition or by sharing about your symptoms. But it is best to avoid that, as well, because the defendant’s lawyer may be able to find evidence against you in the online conversation that such a posting could initiate.

Of course, the defendant also has to be safe with the use of social media. We will monitor the defendant’s social media accounts, as well, to see if he or she is making any contradictory or incriminating statements that can help your case.

What to do

As a personal injury lawyer in Florida, I walk all my clients through the dos and don’ts of social media use. If you are a Florida resident or were injured in Florida, contact me to see how I can help you. Here are some of the things I recommend to my clients:

• Do NOT post anything about the accident: photos, videos, comments. (If you have already done so, let me know so we can take them into consideration when developing our case.)
• Do not post ANYTHING about the lawsuit or insurance claim.
• Ask friends and family to refrain from commenting about your case, your condition, or anything that you are doing, and not to tag you in their posts.
• Check your privacy settings for “friends only” and do not accept friend requests from people you do not know personally.
• Continue to restrict use of social media, including all private messages, chat conversations, gaming, etc. The defense will be able to subpoena your records if they so choose, so privacy settings are not a thorough protection.
• I recommend you simply stay off social media during the case. If you must be on it, limit yourself to likes and sharing articles—nothing at all personal.
• It may be wise to deactivate your accounts during the claim or delete them entirely. If you wish, as a way of explanation, state simply that you were in an accident and you won’t be posting online for a while. Then close your accounts. This could even strengthen your case.

Just as the defense may subpoena your records, we can subpoena the defendant’s records, so we may find some evidence in the defendant’s communications that may strengthen your case. But we certainly do not want to give that opportunity to the defendant. Stay off social media, and ask your family and friends not to mention anything about you online. Reminding them that anything they say could harm your case could help them realize the seriousness of your request.

As a Florida personal injury lawyer, I am committed to helping Florida residents throughout the state receive just and fair compensation to help them cope with the injuries they have sustained due to someone else’s negligence. I leave no stone unturned to help my clients receive the compensation they deserve. Contact me today, 24/7, at (954) 448-7288, to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.