Facebook Posts Destroy Car Accident Case
A Seattle man was forced to abandon his claim for injuries following a rear-end car accident after the insurance company found a series of posts and photographs regarding his ongoing wrestling following the accident.
EAGAN, MN, June 15, 2013
Mark was rear ended at a red light in Seattle. The police arrived at the scene, and he was transported to a local hospital where he was x-rayed and examined. The doctors confirmed a whiplash injury and advised him to rest, and to follow up with his doctor.Following the ER visit, Mark began a course of treatment with a chiropractor and massage therapist. The chiropractor also documented the injury and reported that all of the treatment was accident related. Mark's treatment continued for several months, and even after he was finished, he reported having residual pain in his back and neck.
When Mark hired a Seattle personal injury lawyer, he was advised him in writing to disable his Facebook and other social media accounts, or at the very least, to change the privacy settings so that only his friends could see what he was posting. He was also advised to be careful not to post anything that might be harmful to his case.
At the conclusion of Mark's treatment, his attorneys submitted a demand for settlement to the other driver's insurance company, expecting an offer of settlement. Instead of an offer, to their surprise, the lawyers received copies of a series of posts about Mark's ongoing backyard wrestling activities. One of the posts described how he was body slammed, and another showed photos of bruises on his leg and back.
Needless to say, the insurance company refused to make an offer on the case, and his attorneys determined it would be too risky to take the case to trial. In short, his Facebook posts cost Mark thousands of dollars in potential settlement money.
Mark's situation is not unique. Insurance companies are scouring social media sites of injured people looking for any reason to reduce the value of their claims, or in some cases, to completely destroy the cases. Most cases are not this extreme. The fact is a person can't stop living their life just because of an injury. However, even if a post or photo can give the impression of fraud or deception by the injured person it could be devastating to their claim.
The best option for an injured person seeking a recovery is to completely disable their social media accounts for the duration of their case. If they are unwilling to do so, they should at least change the privacy settings to friends only, and should refrain from posting anything that might be used by the insurance company to reduce the value of their claim.