ARTICLE
14 May 2022

Can my social media posts affect my personal injury claim?

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Hall Payne Lawyers

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This article looks at how social media activity can negatively impact your personal injury claim.
Australia Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

If you're in receipt of compensation or benefits as a result of a personal injury, your online behaviour, including your behaviour on social media platforms, can have an impact on how your claim is assessed by the insurance company. This could be the case for a:

This article looks at how social media activity can negatively impact your personal injury claim.

Be careful how you use your social media accounts during a compensation claim

In this technological age of social media and smartphones, it is common to regularly post on social media regarding your activities. These platforms allow quick and easy connection with our friends and family, and the sites display photos and your status, allowing individuals to put their lives on show for everyone to see (assuming your privacy settings are minimal).

Does your social media presence reflect your claimed injury or illness?

Not all actions on social media are as private as you might first assume. Photos and/or words posted online that are inconsistent with the claimed effect of physical or psychological injuries may undermine a personal injury claim.

You don't even have to be the one posting the photos. Sometimes, you may not even realise that a friend has posted a photo with you in it.

Posting about your daily activities may undermine your claim, even if you think that what you are posting is harmless or is in no way related to your claim.

Can your social media posts be used against you in a personal injury claim?

The short answer is, yes.

Insurers and/or other parties involved in your compensation claim will often actively investigate and look for social media content about you, among other surveillance initiatives they may engage. If you pursue a common law damages claim, social media posts may even be disclosable in certain instances. For this reason, it is very important that you act in good faith at all times in respect of your injuries and their impact on you.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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