Amanda Downing, Fort Myers, Florida- Personal Injury Attorney
Can "My Space" and "Face Book" hurt your case? Absolutely.
After you have been involved in an auto accident and reported the accident to your insurance company and/or the at fault party's insurance company.....Beware. The insurance company and their adjusters, claim representatives, investigators and/or lawyers will perform a search of your name on the internet, specifically, "Face Book" and "My Space".
The personal comments and photographs that you place on these websites can potentially harm your case. For example, if you claim you can no longer fish or attend social gatherings since the date of the accident and you post a picture of yourself with a 34 inch Snook that you just caught (after the accident) or a picture of yourself at the latest college ball game clearly having a good time, (again-after the accident) you can be certain these photos will be used against you at a later date.
I recently handled a motorcycle accident case where during my client's deposition he was asked if he had ever wrecked his motorcycle prior to the subject accident-he replied, "no". At mediation we were shown copies of pages from my client's "My Space" page where my client bragged on his webpage about all the stunts he had previously performed on his motorcycle resulting in multiple crashes, burn outs and prior similar injuries.
Until a settlement has been reached and while your case is pending, PLEASE do not participate or place any personal information on any internet websites. Even if you have requested that your web page be seen by private invitation only, the attorney for the at fault insurance company may request a court order for permission to obtain access to your internet pages.
If you would like additional information regarding your personal injury claim. Please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely
Amanda Downing, Esq.
