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When filing a workers’ compensation claim, it is important that you’re on your best behavior until you reach a settlement. In most cases, the payout for your workers’ compensation claim will be used to get your life back to “normal” following the accident, so it’s important to do everything you can to ensure your claim is approved.
Did you know that what you’re posting on social media can be used against you in your workers’ compensation case?
What Social Media Sites May Be Harmful?
Social media is more prominent now than it ever has been, there is a social media platform for you to share absolutely anything you want. However, it is important to be careful of what’s being shared on these sites while fighting for workers’ compensation benefits.
The most common social media sites that may hurt your case are:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Dating sites
Google +
How Can Social Media Impact My Claim?
As social media evolves, so does the way that insurance companies investigate claims. This means that insurance companies and their attorney have the ability to search through your social media posts during their investigation, and use any information they find against you.
When they are searching through your social media accounts, they are looking for anything that can potentially soil your claim. While it may seem impossible for photos of you with your friends to impact your workers’ compensation benefits, it can.
Some of the things that insurance companies look for on social media include:
Mentioning your injuries or the accident - Anything you comment on relating to the accident can be used against you to state that you’re not as severely injured as you stated or that there was another reason for the accident. Something as simple as “I feel okay” may be used against you to argue that you have healed.
Photos of you taking place in things you shouldn’t be able to - Photos of you dancing or working out may be enough evidence to show that you are not as injured as you have made it seem.
Location - If you have your location services on and you are at a place you shouldn’t be you may run the risk of getting your case denied. For example, if you’re suffering from a “crippling” leg injury, you shouldn’t go to your local theme park and post a photograph with Mickey Mouse. This may be evidence enough to prove that you are in much better physical condition than it seems.
Posts of friends and family - You need to be sure to inform your friends and family to abstain from posting photographs of you until your case settles. You never know what evidence may be used against you, so it’s best to just refrain from posting until things finalize.
Befriending - Setting my profile to private will stop this because they won’t see my posts—right? Well, in some cases, yes. But the reality is some insurance companies will do whatever is necessary to win the case. This includes sending friend requests to the plaintiff to view their profile. Be wary of accepting new friend requests while going through the process of a workers’ compensation claim, you never know who it may be.
Prevention
While the best practice during a workers’ compensation claim is to simply refrain from using social media, there are some tips if you do decide to continue using:
Don’t post about a vacation during the time away from work
Do not post about any physical activity, including lifting heavy objects
Absolutely never discuss your claim, injuries, or the accident on social media
If your profiles are not already private, be sure to update your settings
Here at Morales & Cerino, we know just how shady insurance companies can be. Put your trust in our hands and let us for the compensation you deserve. Our experienced Hialeah workers’ compensation attorneys have won numerous amounts of cases for our clients.
If you were denied workers’ compensation due to social media, or you simply are looking to get started on how to receive workers’ compensation benefits, contact us today at (305) 340-2630.