How Social Media Can Hurt Your Alabama Car Accident Case

Social media can help connect you with others. However, your use of social media could also hurt your car accident claim. Insurance companies can use anything you post on social media against you, even taking a comment or photo out of context to question your injuries or credibility. 

If you suffered injuries in a car crash in Alabama, you should understand how your online activity may affect your personal injury case, including the potential impact on the compensation you may recover.

How Can Someone Use My Social Media Posts Against Me in My Car Accident Case?

Auto insurance companies want to pay as little as possible to resolve accident claims. So, it’s common for insurance adjusters and defense attorneys to search for social media content that can help them dispute claims. They may look at posts, comments, photos, videos, and location check-ins to find anything that contradicts what a victim claims about a car crash and their injuries.

For example, if you claim that your injuries limit your mobility, but then post a picture of yourself dancing, the defense may argue that your injuries aren’t as serious as you claim. The defense’s goal is to create doubt.

Anything you post publicly online can be potential evidence. Publicly available content is “discoverable,” meaning the opposing parties can use it in court or settlement negotiations. Insurers and defense attorneys may even access private messages or “friends-only” posts through discovery if they appear relevant to a person’s injuries, activities, or emotional distress.

Alabama’s contributory negligence rule can result in a loss of compensation even if a person is slightly responsible for their injuries. So, you can expect insurance adjusters to use social media to build a narrative that tries to minimize your pain, challenge your version of the crash, or blame you for it.

Can Deleted Social Media Posts Still Be Used Against Me in My Personal Injury Claim?

Deleting posts after a crash might seem like a good idea, but it can make things worse. Once you file or anticipate a lawsuit, both sides have a legal duty to preserve potential evidence.

Under Rule 37 of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, a judge can impose penalties for destroying or hiding evidence. Even if you delete a post before filing your claim, it may still exist in archived data, screenshots, or server backups. The defense may subpoena records directly from social media companies to retrieve the deleted materials.

Instead of deleting posts, stop posting and make your profiles private. You can also adjust privacy settings to limit who can tag or mention you. These steps won’t make your content completely invisible, but they can reduce the risks involved.

Should I Completely Avoid Posting to Social Media After My Car Accident?

Generally, you should pause all social media activity while your car accident claim is pending. Anything you post or share online, even seemingly innocent posts, could be taken out of context and twisted in your personal injury case. Even unrelated social media evidence can create problems if it gives the impression that you’re more active or less affected by the crash than your medical reports suggest.

If you don’t completely abandon social media, follow these three basic rules: 

• Avoid discussing the accident, your injuries, the other driver, or any conversations with insurance companies in your online posts.
• Don’t post or send photos of anything related to your case during the claims process, as even private messages can become evidence.
• Ask your friends or family members not to post about your case because insurers may try to use their posts as evidence, too.

This pause doesn’t have to last forever. Once your case is over, you can decide when and how to resume regular posting. Until then, silence is protection.

How Can I Use Social Media After a Car Accident?

If you don’t delete your accounts (and you don’t necessarily have to do that), you should still treat them carefully. Here are a few other ways to use social media responsibly after a crash:

• Limit your activity – Don’t post or comment on other posts.  Even liking or sharing a post about physical activity, travel, or emotional recovery could be used to question your injuries.
• Adjust your social media privacy settings – In general, you should set them to private.
• Set restrictions – Switch your social media accounts to “friends only” and restrict who can tag or message you.
• Avoid connecting with anyone you don’t know and can’t verify – Some insurance investigators create fake accounts to access private posts.
• Track your recovery offline – If you want to keep track of your recovery, use a personal journal or private notes instead of public posts.

Generally, anything you post online should be something you’d feel comfortable with being read aloud in court.

Who Can I Talk to About My Crash and Injuries?

Recovering from physical and emotional trauma after a crash is brutal. Most people want to talk about what happened. Still, you should limit your conversations about the accident to your attorney, your doctor, and trusted family members who understand why confidentiality is so important. Friends or coworkers may mean well, but sharing details about your injuries or the crash can damage your case.

Insurance adjusters may contact you directly. They may ask you to give statements or updates. They can do this through the phone, email, or social media. You’re under no obligation to speak with them without your lawyer, and you shouldn’t. Insurance companies typically record these conversations.

Remember, your attorney will handle communication with the insurance company. They’ll also gather the documentation to prove your losses. You should focus on healing while your legal team manages the rest and pursues the fair compensation you deserve.

Contact an Alabama Car Accident Lawyer Near You

When you’re recovering from a car accident, you shouldn’t have to worry about how a single post might affect your claim. A skilled Alabama car accident lawyer from Gartlan Injury Law can help protect your rights and handle communication with insurance companies.

Our results speak for themselves. Read about recent settlements and verdicts to see what happens when we use our experience and resources to serve our clients. In one recent example, our firm secured a favorable settlement for a mother and her children who suffered injuries in a car wreck — a case referred by a friend who had also trusted us with their claim.

Don’t wait to get started. Contact Gartlan Injury Law today to speak with an Alabama car accident lawyer near you in a free consultation.