Social media has had a profound impact on almost every aspect of our lives. It enabled the Arab Spring, it connects us with old classmates we've lost track of, and it records every aspect of our lives…forever. That makes Facebook ripe for all manner of people who might want to investigate you, warn the personal injury lawyers of Florida.
Who, you ask?
Let's start with insurance companies. Not only do the insurance companies surf the social media looking for evidence of anything you might be doing that might make you a larger risk. Smoking, drinking, partying, driving recklessly, and almost anything else you might do that isn't perfectly on the straight and narrow can be used by the insurance companies to adjust your premiums.
But far worse than that, should you ever get into a personal injury case, anything that you've ever put on a social media page will come out in court. The personal injury attorneys of Florida — on both sides of the case — will pore over every post, tweet, status update, and comment you or any of your friends make. One side will be trying to prove that you don't actually have a case, while the other will be trying to establish that you justly deserve the compensation you're seeking.
The problem is that it's generally much easier to use social media comments and posts to ruin your case than it is to build it up. People in general tend to downplay their injuries and other people's wrongs — they don't want to come across as looking for pity or being jerks. And even if you exaggerate your story a little bit to make a more dramatic tale for your friends, the opposing counsel can use that to show that you're prone to distorting facts and ask if you might not be doing it right there in court.
All in all, the best thing to do with social media if you're injured is to mention it in passing and say that your lawyer told you not to talk any more about it. That way, you establish that you were harmed in some way, but you don't say anything that can be used against you either way.