After a car accident, you may want to tell your friends and family members about your experience by posting on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If you have a good video, uploading it to YouTube may also generate some income.
With some exceptions, insurance companies earn profits by collecting premiums and paying as little as possible for claims. When investigating car accidents, insurance adjusters often consider outside information. Consequently, following a car accident you should think twice before posting to social media.
Questioning the severity of your injuries
Any motor vehicle accident has the potential to leave you with serious and life-altering injuries. Fortunately, you may be able to pursue financial compensation for these injuries from the insurer of person who caused the collision.
If your social media posts make you appear healthy, active and happy, the insurance representative may question the severity of your injuries. That is, you may have to fight accusations you are faking all or some of your injuries.
Inadvertently accepting blame
South Dakota has a quirky comparative negligence rule. This rule prevents individuals from recovering financial damages through litigation if they are more than slightly responsible for an accident. Those who are slightly responsible typically receive reduced damages.
Following a crash, you likely do not want to accept blame. If you are not careful with your words on social media, though, you may do just that. Consequently, to ensure you do not undercut your potential legal claims by inadvertently acknowledging fault, you may want simply to remain silent on social media until your accident claim concludes.