Workers’ Compensation Attorney
The use of social media has become a regular part of people’s lives. Facebook statuses and Instagram pictures have become second nature for many of us, and we do them almost automatically. When you don’t pay attention to what you post, this automatic nature can cause problems. As an attorney from The Lynch Law Group explains, you can damage your workers’ compensation case if you post things on your social media profiles that are admissible in court.
Compensation
Victims of workplace accidents can seek compensation from their employers through workers compensation cases, which are often called workers comp cases. If the employer attempts to deny compensation, these cases can quickly become very complex. Worker’s compensation may be crucial to your recovery if you’ve been injured at work, since it covers medical bills and lost wages.
Posts can be used against you in court.
You can use anything you post to social media in court, so posting something that contradicts your case can ruin an otherwise effective workers’ compensation claim. You may give your employer ammunition to use against you if you post pictures of yourself dancing at a bar last weekend while claiming you are injured and unable to work. It is also possible to damage your case by saying certain things.
Workers Compensation Claims
Take the following tweet as an example: “Had an accident at work today, completely my fault, I’m such a clumsy person!” This statement may appear innocent enough, but it could be interpreted as an admission that your injuries were self-inflicted. Some states do not cover self-inflicted injuries under workers’ compensation. Therefore, you completely undermine your argument in just one hundred sixty characters. You should also be aware that any images or videos showing you using drugs around the time of the incident can also undermine your claim.
Our social media posts could all stand to be less inflammatory, but this is especially true for those under workers’ compensation scrutiny. You should inform your attorney of any information on your accounts that may be relevant to your case, and you should delete anything that you can. There is no way to completely delete anything on the internet, but perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to try.
Legal Representation
Having your attorney aware of any potentially harmful posts will give them the opportunity to prepare a plan for protecting you if the information becomes an issue. Even if you do not have an attorney yet, if you are involved in a workers’ compensation accident that has been affected by social media, contact a personal injury or workers’ compensation attorney as soon as possible.