Can Social Media Hurt Your Injury Claim in Dallas? Advice from Top Texas Personal Injury Attorneys

From a day at the zoo to a night cheering on the Cowboys, Dallas residents find plenty to share with their friends on social media. If you are involved in a traumatic event in the city, such as a car crash or slip-and-fall accident, you may also be tempted to share your experience with your online community. However, if you pursue a personal injury claim after your accident, those social media posts may be your worst enemy.

The Texas personal injury attorneys at Carabin Shaw advise accident victims to use extreme caution when posting on social media after filing a personal injury claim. Our English- and Spanish-speaking professionals protect victims’ rights and help them pursue all the compensation they deserve. Contact us online or call toll-free at 1-800-862-1260 to schedule your FREE case review today!

Posting about your accident on social media may seem harmless and even therapeutic as you share your experience with others. However, insurance companies and their attorneys rely on this seemingly innocent activity to protect their bottom line by arguing that your claims of pain, suffering, and financial loss are exaggerated or untrue.

Content in social posts may inadvertently:

• Contradict assertions in your personal injury claim
• Provide admission of guilt for some or all of the accident
• Diminish the seriousness of your injuries

For example, a victim files a personal injury claim after a car accident rendered her unable to work and caused severe pain and emotional distress. A week later, that same victim posts photos on Facebook laughing and enjoying a gathering with friends. An insurance company can use that post to demonstrate that the victim was not suffering as they claimed, thereby substantially reducing their damages.

If you post about your accident with a statement such as, “I should have been paying more attention,” insurance companies will use it to shift some of the blame for the accident onto you. Under Texas’s proportionate responsibility rule, this can reduce your damages by your portion of fault for the incident, leaving you with less compensation for your medical bills and lost wages.

Texas courts recognize social media posts as admissible evidence in personal injury cases under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 192.3. This Texas law allows a party to obtain evidence relevant to a lawsuit, including digital content like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook posts. At your initial consultation with a Dallas personal injury attorney, your legal team will likely check all your social media outlets to determine if any of the content could be used to dispute your case.

You might assume you can protect your posts by setting them to “private” mode, but lawyers for insurance companies can request access to them through the discovery process. They can also use posts tagged by friends and family. Some insurance companies may even try to friend you on social media to gain access to your private posts.

Deleting posts can also negatively impact your case. The insurance company may use the deletion as evidence that you are trying to hide evidence, and their attorneys may subject you to penalties under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 215.2.

Understanding the risks associated with social media is your first step. Next, protect yourself with these actions:

• Avoid posting about your accident or injuries
• Refuse new friend requests
• Ask friends and family not to post about you
• Set your privacy settings to the highest level
• Do not delete any posts or messages
• Contact a Dallas accident lawyer

When you are injured in an accident, the aftermath is painful and stressful. It can be tempting to share your experience with your online community. Contact a personal injury lawyer instead.

When you work with the experts at Carabin Shaw, you pay nothing unless we win your case. Check our law firm’s client reviews to see how we’ve helped other accident victims like you. Then, call us 24/7 at 1-800-862-1260, or contact us online to book your free case evaluation.

For more information:

• Texas Statutes 33
• Rule 192.3. Scope of Discovery
• Rule 215. Abuse of Discovery; Sanctions