It’s a matter of survival. When you are injured and unable to work you need every benefit that you are entitled to—especially your biweekly temporary disability checks. But remember that the insurance company and your employer will be tirelessly looking for ANYTHING that will undermine your claim. Insurance companies pay big dollars to investigators who will comb through Facebook, Tic-Toc, Instagram, and dating web sites, to gather information about you for the specific purpose of denying and defeating your workers’ compensation or personal injury claim.
GIVE IT A REST. DON’T POST IF YOU HAVE AN ACTIVE CLAIM FOR WORKERS COMPENSATION BENEFITS
If you, for example have a back injury and you posted a single innocent pic of your short hike with a friend, your post will be used to discredit your assertion that your injury is as painful and limiting as you (or your doctor) have stated. Even comments posted by friends or family like “…you seem to have recovered from your injury…” will be used against you to defeat your claim.
With so much on the line, and the insurance companies constantly working against you, it’s essential that you do not provide any reasons for them to withhold benefits.
DON’T DISCUSS YOUR CASE ANYWHERE ONLINE–EVEN IN PM’s
Even if you set your social media accounts to “private”, there are circumstances where the insurance company can subpoena your entire account. You can imagine the treasure trove of “evidence” that your employer and insurance attorneys would have at their fingertips to use against you.
Not only must you keep details about your case private, but you must keep your entire life off of social media. Even innocent posts about your daily activities will be used against you in court to show that you are not as injured as you claimed to be. And never post rants against the insurance carrier or your employer. This only provides evidence that will be interpreted that you are the vindictive type who is not deserving of insurance benefits.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT AS PROTECTED AS YOU MIGHT HOPE
There are companies whose sole purpose is to pull information about you off the web. How do you protect yourself? As in criminal cases, “You have the right to remain silent”. Although insurance adjusters and insurance company lawyers are not required to “read you your rights”, it’s good practice on your part to be silent on all social media.
It’s always an unwelcomed surprise when an injured worker with a legitimate workers’ comp case is confronted during his or her deposition, or in court with a dossier of photos and other material that the insurance company has compiled in order to defeat their claim.
Do not undermine your own case by posting on line. The insurance company will always get its hands on your innocent communications and will try to use them to deny your workers’ comp benefits.