Kirk Bernard

I’ve been advising many of my clients recently to stop being active on social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter when their case is in progress or claim is pending. Why? Because, when you’re actively involved in any one of these sites, you are being watched. You are being closely observed not only by your “Facebook friends” or “Twitter followers,” but also by others who may not necessarily be your friends such as insurance adjusters. You may be sharing your vacation pictures, thoughts on issues and other information with people who may not have your best interests at heart.

For decades, insurance adjusters have used questionable means to find out damaging evidence about plaintiffs so they can save their employer – the insurance company – some money. It is important to understand that insurance companies will go to any lengths to reduce the value of your claim and save themselves some money, including eavesdropping on your Facebook or MySpace page. Many people don’t know or don’t even realize that their Facebook account will allow people who live in their region to view the page. That’s how the default privacy settings work on a Facebook account. The people in your region can view everything that’s on your page even if they are not technically “your friends.”

Now, there have been cases that have been blown because of discrepancies in what they claimed and the hard evidence that could be seen by way of photographs and videos on their Facebook pages. For example, if you claim to have suffered a back injury in an accident that prevents you from going to work, but post pictures of you skiing or doing a slam-dunk on the basketball court, that’s going to be harmful to your case. Needless to say, it’s a bad idea to lie to your attorney or anyone for that matter, about your injuries. That said, there have also been many cases where insurance adjusters have manipulated the information they found on these Web sites to their own benefit – to use it as an argument to reduce the value of the claim.

My advice as a Seattle personal injury lawyer who has represented injured clients for 25 years is: Don’t go there. If you have filed a personal injury claim, shut down your account until your claim has been favorably settled. You will have to live with that settlement for the rest of your life. So, please do not do anything that will jeopardize or adversely affect your Seattle personal injury case.

If you or a loved one is a personal injury victim in Seattle, please contact the experienced Washington personal injury attorneys with The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE brochure, which has useful educational information to help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.