Post With Caution: Social Media And Your Vermont Workers' Compensation Case
Social media has become an inescapable part of life but people often forget that their online activity can have consequences in the real world. If you have a workers' compensation claim, your posts could affect your case. We explain how to use social media in a way that doesn’t harm your workers’ compensation claim.
Creating a Record
Online content has a tendency to stick around. In our experience, injured people often share material that can look inconsistent with their claims of serious injury. Posting about fishing, playing golf, swimming, boating, gardening, or even dancing at a wedding can undermine your case if it’s taken out of context. If your post makes it look like your injury is less serious than you claim, then insurance adjusters, employers, and defense attorneys will be able to find that information and use it against you in your claim for benefits. In case after case at BFS, we have seen insurance companies and their attorneys:
- Follow our clients online
- Request copies of a client’s e-mails, texts, and phone records
- Read a client’s social media posts
- Look at a client’s online photos and videos
- Use all of the above to deny or discredit a client’s claim.
Social media must be handled with extreme caution, even when the facts are on your side.
Telling a Story
Social media isn't just about the facts—it's about the story that those facts may or may not tell. If your social media feed shows you having a good time or enjoying your time out of work, this can be used to create a story that you are not focused on your recovery.
How to Handle Social Media
You don’t have to miss out on life’s events and you don’t have to stop using social media. But you should make sure that what you post online is appropriate for your injury. It is very important that you follow your doctor’s medical instructions for recovery and your attorney’s legal advice while doing any activity that could end up online.
The best way to deal with your social media accounts during a workers' compensation claim is to talk to BFS before you start posting anything at all. We can help you figure out if posting online has a chance of impacting your case and whether the items you want to post could end up telling a story that can hurt your chances to get the compensation that you deserve.
When you need help returning to your life following a workplace injury, don't try to do it all on your own— Contact Biggam Fox Skinner LLP today at (802) 445-9141 for the representation you deserve.