Nobody wants to be injured while simply going through an ordinary day at work. Unfortunately, such accidents happen throughout the country each year. Slips and falls, electric shocks, and injuries from workplace hazards are among the common workplace injuries, and in some accidents, people are injured or even killed.
If you’ve been injured at work, seek the advice of an attorney as soon as possible. Be careful with what you share after a workplace accident. While you may want to just post whatever you want to social media, you could ultimately sabotage yourself if you do. Follow these dos and don’ts for posting to social media after you’ve been injured at work.
Do Consider Disabling All Social Media Accounts
Disabling social media accounts may sound extreme. If you enjoy using social media, then you may feel unfairly punished by the suggestion. However, many attorneys do suggest that clients delete their social media accounts for their own protection.
Posting to social media accounts after an accident can be risky, and it can be hard to discern whether you are sharing safe posts or some things that may inadvertently cause harm to your case. A defense attorney may peruse your accounts looking for something to use against you. Evidence may be gathered through photos, posts that you’re tagged in, and instances when you check in.
Nobody can require you to delete your social media accounts. However, it’s worthwhile to carefully weigh whether keeping your accounts is worth the trouble. Discuss the situation with your attorney. Be fully informed about what you’re risking when you post. If you’re in doubt, ask your personal injury lawyer for advice that’s specific to your situation.
Don’t Share Emotional Outbursts or Angry Rants
After being injured at work, you may want to gather support and make sure people understand your side of the story. One modern way that people use to attain an instant surge of support is posting to social media.
If you post an overly emotional outburst or an angry rant that expresses your frustration over the accident, then your friends may make sympathetic comments. However, the post can be used against you. What’s worse, you may exaggerate or omit details when rage takes over. Don’t compromise your credibility just for one social media post made in the heat of the moment.
Do Assume Every Post Is Public
No matter how you arrange your privacy settings, you need to assume that anything you post to your social media accounts may be accessed by the public. A viewer can easily take screenshots and share posts elsewhere on the internet.
Since you don’t really know who’s behind the screen on the social media accounts of your friends and followers, never trust that a friends-only post will remain among your friends. Before you post anything to your account, make sure that you’d be alright with insurance agents, your boss, and your family seeing each social media post you share.
Don’t Mention the Accident on Social Media
If you posted photos from an accident on social media, you wouldn’t be the first person in the world to do so. People have made a variety of social media mistakes that have cost them dearly in court. No matter how much you see others oversharing on social media sites like Facebook, don’t post anything about the accident at all. Don’t post photos or share any details.
Life may be tricky if the accident caused you a serious injury. If your lifestyle has changed, gather support offline. Call your friends on the phone rather than posting on their wall or discussing things on social media.
Do Request That Your Friends Avoid Discussing the Accident Online
If friends make a comment on your unrelated posts and mention the accident, delete their comments immediately. If you’re afraid of hurting their feelings, simply send them a private message to explain that you have decided to not mention the accident anywhere online. That’s a reasonable request.
Be proactive to ensure that your friends don’t discuss the accident on their own social media pages or in comments on anyone else’s. In fact, it’s best to request that friends not discuss the accident or post anything about it anywhere on the internet.
Don’t Accept New Friend or Follow Requests
If you cannot get rid of your social media account, take precautions to protect it as best you can. Don’t accept new friend requests or followers on any of your social media accounts after an accident. You don’t know who could be posing as someone else online. If you see a familiar name, contact them outside of social media to confirm they sent the invitation.
Finally, after you seek medical attention, your next step should be contacting an attorney to determine how you should best proceed to protect your interests. The caring personal injury lawyers at Shay & Associates can help you with any personal injury claim after an accident at work. Reach out for help and a no-obligation consultation.