Your Social Media Post Could Cost You

Thousands of Dollars in Lost Settlement Money Due to Online Posts

Recently a Florida teenager posted information about her father’s $80,000 legal settlement on her Facebook account. As a typical standard clause in a settlement, the father had signed a confidentiality clause prohibiting the disclosure of information about the agreement. The daughter’s Facebook post was a violation of the confidentiality agreement and so the defendant rightfully refused to pay the $80,000.

Facebook, as well as other social media sites, is a public forum, even if your profile is set to “private”.

Using social media sites can cost you money—reducing your settlement amount. Insurance companies monitor Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites. What you post online can harm your legal case.u Refrain from posting anything online about your case, accident details, injuries, treatment, feelings, etc….ANYTHING. I cannot stress this enough. And do not accept friend requests from anyone that you do not know—that friend request might actually be coming from an insurance investigator.

It is also important not to post photographs or videos even if they are from years gone by. Since it is popular to post old pictures on social media sites on ‘Throwback Thursday’ or ‘Flashback Friday’ it is not inconceivablethat old picture of you participating in any sports or other physical activity might end up hurting your personal injury case because insurance companies can use those photos to argue that you are not injured—-implying that the date that the picture was posted is the date that it was actually taken. They can use the social media post to make it look like you are lying about your injuries.I take this topic so serious that I recommend my clients completely disable or delete these accounts until their case has completely settled and they have received their full settlement amounts. And even after the settlement funds have been dispersed it is best to refrain from discussing your case online whatsoever.

The bottom line is, when involved in any sort of legal proceedings, don’t disclose anything on social media.

Category: Case Results Blog, Other, Other Cases, The Law Offices of Robert T. Edens, P.C.

Your Social Media Post Could Cost You