How Social Media Can Harm Your Personal Injury Case

One quick post can feel harmless, but once you are hurt and making a claim, your social media turns into a public scrapbook for the other side. Insurance teams look for anything that helps them pay less. A fun photo, a joke, even a location tag can get twisted into “evidence.”

At the Shlosman Law Firm in New Orleans, we help injured people and their families after car crashes, offshore accidents, and other serious events. We hold insurers and big companies to their promises. This article shows how social media can damage your case and what you can do right now to protect yourself.

The Risks: Why Your Social Media Activity Matters

Insurance companies and defense lawyers check Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and private groups for clues. They compare your posts with medical records and your statements, then argue your injuries are lighter than you claim. That content often gets pulled into court if the judge believes it is relevant and authentic.

Even innocent posts get read the wrong way. A picture of you smiling at a birthday dinner can be used to suggest you are fine. Privacy settings help a little, but they are not a shield since content can be requested in discovery or shared by mutual contacts.

Here is how online activity turns into ammunition for the other side:

• They track dates, locations, and captions to argue you violated medical limits.
• They save photos and videos that look like heavy lifting, travel, or sports.
• They search friend tags to place you at events that clash with your reported pain.

Courts often accept public posts as usable evidence. Even private posts can be ordered for review if the request is narrow and tied to the issues in the case.

Common Social Media Mistakes That Can Jeopardize Your Claim

Small choices online snowball fast. These are the patterns we see most often, and how they hurt a case.

Contradictory Evidence

Posts that clash with your reported pain or limits give insurers a chance to say you are exaggerating. A short clip of you picking up a toddler or carrying groceries gets framed as proof you are not that hurt. Status updates like “feeling fine today” can be used to argue full recovery.

Posts Implying Admission of Fault

Comments about the accident can be twisted into blame. A line like “I should have left earlier” or “I didn’t see them” can read like you caused the crash. Sharing details, opinions, or raw emotions creates statements the defense will quote back at you.

Damage to Credibility

Your believability drives settlement value. Posts unrelated to the injury can still cause trouble if they hint at risky choices or show questionable substances. Once a jury doubts your judgment, they are more likely to doubt your symptoms.

Location Check-Ins and Tags

Check-ins at restaurants, gyms, or vacation spots raise questions about mobility, lifting, or travel limits. Location tags place you at venues that can clash with your treatment plan. Even if you sat most of the night, that single tag tells a different story.

Updates on Legal Proceedings

Talking about your case online, even in vague terms, sends the wrong signal. Bragging about a payout or hinting about a strategy makes you look money-driven, not injury-driven. Those statements can drag down your credibility with a judge or jury.

Posts by Friends and Family

Well-meaning loved ones often tag you or share updates that contradict your limits. That single photo of a backyard game can give the defense a new angle. Ask your inner circle to hit pause on tags and posts about you until the case is over.

If something is post-worthy, it is probably evidence-worthy. A short break from social media is safer than a long argument about context later.

Protecting Your Claim: Dos and Don’ts

You do not need to delete every account. You just need a smart plan you can actually follow during the case.

Dos

These steps cut down the material the other side can grab and twist:

• Limit social media activity to reduce the pool of content the defense can pull.
• Adjust privacy settings, while keeping in mind they are not a guarantee.
• Talk with your lawyer before posting anything tied to your injury or case.
• Check tags often and remove anything that could hurt your claim.
• Ask close contacts not to share or tag you in posts related to you or your case.

Set a calendar reminder to review your tags weekly. That habit alone saves a lot of headaches.

Don’ts

These are the habits that trigger the biggest problems in court:

• Avoid talking about your injury, recovery, fault, or legal moves online.
• Skip posting pictures or videos, even if they seem unrelated.
• Decline unknown friends or follow requests since investigators use fake accounts.
• Turn off check-ins and geotags that show movement and travel.
• Do not delete past posts without legal guidance since that can look like hiding evidence.

If you slip and post, stop there. Do not argue in comments or try to edit the past.

What If You’ve Already Posted Something?

Do not panic or try to cover it up. Take screenshots so your legal team knows exactly what exists. Then, stop posting and talk with your lawyer right away.

Being open with your legal team helps us decide how to respond. We can plan around a bad post, but hiding it creates a second problem that is harder to fix.

Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword

Some people want to post to show how shaken and overwhelmed they feel. Courts rarely give that much weight. Decision makers prefer records from doctors, therapy notes, employment files, and statements from people who see your daily limits.

Emotional posts can be twisted into drama or viewed as attention seeking. Focus your energy on treatment, medical follow-ups, and keeping a simple record of symptoms. That proof carries real weight in negotiations.

Need Assistance? Contact Shlosman Law Firm

At Shlosman Law Firm, we fight hard for injured people across New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. We push back on insurance tactics, protect your story, and work to recover full compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and future needs.

If you have questions about a recent post, or you want one clear game plan for your claim, reach out now. Call 504-826-9427 or contact us through our website. Quick advice concerning social media can save a strong case from an avoidable dent.