How Insurance Companies Utilize Social Media Against Filed Claims

Aug. 20, 2012 - PRLog -- August 20, 2012

Tampa. Florida

Social Media websites (i.e., Facebook) are becoming universally used as a social outlet. These sites are a fantastic way to stay in touch with family, old friends, and new acquaintances. While social media has served as another avenue for communication and an outlet for leisure, it is essential to understand how the information you place on such sites can come back to haunt you. Social Media is also becoming an outlet for insurance companies to gather information to use as evidence. The insurance companies gather this evidence to combat claims made against them.

When an accident victim files a claim, it’s only a matter of time before some insurance agent is clicking through all of the victim’s photos on Facebook, and reading all of their twitter posts.  Insurance companies look for anything that they may be able to use to discredit all claims no matter how legitimate they may be. Photos are nothing more than a snapshot in time and often fail to tell much of a story at all.  However, defense lawyers will take a series of pictures of an injury victim smiling while having a good time with friends or family and utilize such to tell jurors that such person is not injured or in the condition they claim.  The defense lawyer acts as if the injury victim should walk around with a permanent scowl on their face.  If they did just that, they would be accused of being a malingerer.   It is also important to note that both adjusters and insurance defense lawyers will seek pictures depicting a car accident victim participating in an activity that would seem unorthodox for an individual claiming to be injured.

It’s not uncommon for an insurance agent to arrive at mediation with photos that have been printed off the plaintiff’s Facebook.  They can point to the smallest detail and attempt to use it to claim that the victim isn’t actually injured.  It’s not above an insurance company to claim that a severely injured person, who attempts to wear a certain type of healed shoe to a formal event, is lying about the injury.  Generally the pictures won’t show how much pain a person is or isn’t in.  However, no matter how insignificant, pictures, videos and posting found on these websites can be very dangerous to your claim.

For more information pertaining to this matter contact The Dolman Law Group. The Dolman Law Group can be reached by phone at (727) 451-6900, or email matt@dolmanlaw.com.  You can also visit The Dolman Law Group online at http://www.dolmanlaw.com.