The social media trap

The images were blurry and it was hard to recognize whether they were in fact of my client.  But she soon confirmed that she did post the problematic photos....

We see it often.  An insurance company lawyer “friends” a client or worse, gets another person to do it, and images taken off of a client’s online feed end up as potential evidence in our case.  It’s standard practice for our office to advise every client to forego social media posts while their case is ongoing.  Why?

By their very nature online posts are misleading.  The exaggerated angles and filters, the humble boasts about what’s happening in the photo, not to mention photoshop and a host of other applications which can insert and modify images.   Sometimes, a photo depicts a physical activity which a doctor prescribed as physical therapy, or the client was on significant pain medication when the picture was taken.  Even if the photo is not damaging, it presents an unneeded distraction to the actual issues in a case.

The reality is that photos taken from online postings also face a host of evidentiary problems;  when was the photo actually taken?  did the client actually post the photo?  was it modified?  Was it taken before the injury and posted later?   And most importantly, can the Insurance companies lawyer prove any of the above.

Bottom line; online posts are not worth the potential issues they create.  If you are going through any type of disability, injury, or legal process, don’t post on Social Media!

José A.Borrego

Attorney

joseborregolaw.com

730 Alhambra boulevard 208 SAC CA 95816