When you are behind the wheel, you should stay off your phone. Your chances of being in a wreck increase if you try to post something on Facebook or Twitter while driving.
However, it is also a good idea to stay off social media before you receive money from your insurance company for the car accident. The things you post on Facebook can come back to hurt you if the incident goes to court. You should not post anything related to your injuries, your insurance company’s settlement offer or details about your communication with your attorney.
All information on social media is public
Even if you have your privacy settings set to the highest standard possible, you should always assume your insurance company can find your posts. Photos and statuses on social media can serve as evidence in a court of law. Therefore, if there is a post that even suggests you did not sustain injuries as bad as you claimed, then you could lose out significantly.
For example, you may post a picture of yourself out at the beach enjoying the sun. Your insurance company can use such an innocuous post to assert your injuries are not as bad as you claimed. Regardless of how true that statement is, it becomes another headache to contend with.
You may also inadvertently post incriminating evidence suggesting you were partially at fault for the crash. You may post something such as, “I crashed my car today.” This statement implies you crashed the vehicle into something, asserting you share some of the blame. It is simply better to not post anything.
Avoid destruction of evidence
In the event you do post something, avoid deleting it. The court will view this as destruction of evidence, even if the post had nothing to do with the crash. You want to maintain a positive reputation during the trial. Until everything is final, you should take a step back from social media.
