Social media has become an everyday part of life. You proudly post pictures of your kids and update your profile photos regularly. But did you know that anything you post on social media could be used in your workers’ compensation case?
Your employer and its insurance company may monitor your accounts to make sure you are telling the truth about the extent of your injury and your physical condition. And they aren’t just looking for a figurative “smoking gun,” such as a picture of you running a marathon when you’ve been out for a knee problem for six weeks. Much of what they look for is more subtle, but it could still cause big problems for you.
How Can Social Media Impact a Workers’ Compensation Case?
Companies can use evidence gathered on social media to disprove a workers’ compensation claim. They will key on anything that appears to contradict medical information or diagnoses you have shared. So, for example, if you have missed work with a back injury yet you appear in a dance competition on your Facebook page, your company could present this as evidence that you’ve been lying about your injury.
Employers can cite information found on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other major platforms. Anything you post can be fair game — including pictures and statuses that speak to your mental state. If you claimed to have post-traumatic stress disorder that has caused mental anguish, making work impossible, and your employer produces pictures of you smiling and happy at a party on Facebook, the court may rule this is evidence that your mental state was actually fine and you don’t deserve workers’ comp.
Social Media Tips When Filing Workers’ Compensation Claims
To protect yourself during a workers’ comp case, consider doing the following:
- Make all your social media accounts private so pictures and updates are not available to the public.
- Avoid posting anything about how you feel or putting up pictures of yourself while you are out on workers’ comp.
- Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know.
- Block other people from posting on your timeline.
- Do not use messaging apps within social media networks.
Even if your account is private, during a workers’ compensation case, the opposing counsel can request records of your posts on social media that might relate to work. The only way to ensure you won’t face consequences from your posts is to not post at all during your case.
In addition to using these social media and workers’ compensation case tips, you should get in touch with a Pennsylvania lawyer who specializes in this area to help guide you through this often complex and sometimes frustrating process.
The lawyers at Frommer D’Amico work only on workers’ compensation cases. We will even travel to you from our offices in Central Pennsylvania, making us accessible to a wider range of clients. We want to help get injured workers what they need and what they deserve. Contact us today by getting in touch online or calling 717-400-1000 to set up a free consultation.