How Social Media Can Harm Your Case

Social media sites have become standard accessories to almost every person in modern society. Most people have an account either for personal or business relationships, posting anything from advertising banners to hiring ads, personal photos to milestones. In fact, social media has become such a pivotal aspect in our culture, that it has also become accessible as tangible evidence in the courtroom.

Despite varying battles on privacy and personal vs public information, posts and information contained on social media sites have become fair game for courtroom speculation. Just as potential places of work can peruse a person’s profile, information for your court case can also be taken from your social media use including posting times, friends and even in some cases private messages.

When you have been in an accident, it is recommended to suspend activity on your account. Above all, talk to your lawyer about specific aspects of your case to be cautious about. Be advised that pictures, comments and messaging regarding your case could be used in a court against you.

When you have been involved in a car accident and the case is still in the works, do yourself a favor and be discreet about posting about the events, damage or persons involved until after your case has been settled fairly.

Take these steps to ensure security

1. Increase privacy settings on your account temporarily to prevent social media content from being easily accessed.
2. Let your immediate friends, family and anyone else involved or knowing information about your accident, to be discreet and discourage them to post anything about your accident.
3. Remove any posts from social media that may have been made on your part that may now be damaging.
4. Check in with your trained lawyer to see if anything comes up when someone searches your name generally on the internet. There are steps that can be taken to remove unflattering content so that it can’t be seen by the public.