During a personal injury lawsuit where you are the plaintiff, everything about your life is open to discovery and subpoenas by opposing counsel. That includes everything you post on social media, as well as the sites that you frequent online. Here are three unexpected ways your online life could potentially hurt your personal injury lawsuit.
#1: Your Activity Can Be Used Against You
The vast majority of personal injury lawsuits include requests for damages based on physical injuries as well as emotional damage. Many personal injury lawsuits also include requests for compensation for lost wages and lost earnings.
The very basis of your personal injury lawsuits rests on the presumption that your injuries, whether physical or emotional, prevented you from fully participating in day-to-day activities and hampered your life.
If you seem just as active after your injuries as you were before them, your attorney may have a hard time convincing that judge and jury that your injuries prevented you from participating in day-to-day activities and leading the lifestyle that you want to.
Even things that seem innocent, like posting photos of you standing outside your house, going out to dinner with your friends, or attending a family birthday party, could be used as evidence that your injuries are not as serious as you claim they are.
#2 Your Enemies Could Be Used Against You
Since opposing counsel has the ability to subpoena all of your social media activity from the companies that own your social media accounts, they will be able to see exactly how you interact with people online.
If they notice that you recently got into a fight with someone one, or that you recently un-friended someone, they could use that information to dig deeper into your life. They could even reach out to the person you were fighting with online or whom you unfriended to see if they can offer any little juicy details about your life that could damage your case.
If opposing counsel finds information they can use against you and to help your client, that friend you fought with online may become a witness for the defense.
#3 Your Searches Can Be Used Against You
Even what you search online could potentially be discovered during a personal injury trial. If opposing counsel can provide a compelling reason for access to your computer, they could look into your search history. If you have ever researched personal injury lawsuits, or even the particular type of situations you were in when you were injured, the defense can use that information to try to show that your case is a sham.
Your online activity can be your biggest enemy during a personal injury lawsuit. The opposing counsel can request access to your social media accounts and online activity through the discovery process. You will be required by the courts to grant them access to this information. It is the job of opposing counsel to do everything they can to cast doubt on your case and on the severity of your claims. They will search through your online activity in order to find ways to bolster your case, which is why it is so important to limit and be careful about your online activity during a personal injury case. For more information, visit http://www.scottandscottlaw.com.
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