After being injured in a bike accident, your instinct might be to share your experience on social media—whether to update friends, vent frustrations or raise awareness of the circumstances that contributed to your situation. However, if you’re considering a personal injury claim, it’s important to stay off social media until your case is resolved. What you post online can be used against you, even if it seems harmless at the time.
Insurance companies and defense attorneys are increasingly utilizing social media as a tool to investigate injury claims. They may comb through your posts, comments, photos and even tagged content from friends and family, looking for anything that could cast doubt on the extent of your injuries or suggest you are not as hurt as you claim. A single picture of you smiling at a social event or a comment about feeling “fine” could be taken out of context and used to argue that you’re exaggerating your injuries.
Don’t compromise your ability to seek justice
In California, bike accidents often lead to serious injuries such as broken bones, head trauma and road rash. Recovery can be lengthy and painful, and you deserve to be fully compensated. But if your social media activity contradicts your medical records or undermines your claims of physical or emotional suffering, it could weaken your case significantly.
Even posts unrelated to the accident can be risky. For example, sharing a picture of your bike on a trail—even if it’s from before the crash—could create the impression that you’ve returned to physical activity too soon. Insurance companies are notoriously skilled at twisting information to serve their interests.
The safest option is to pause your social media activity altogether as your case progresses. Let your attorney handle communication while you focus on your recovery.
