So, uh, yeah, the Internet is Public. Just so you know.

Baltimore Injury Lawyer Blog by John Bratt

You know what’s funny about stuff you post on the internet? It’s public, and that means people can see it. This includes those you would rather not see it. For example, if you are a disability claimant, you may want to forego that chance to post a video on Youtube of yourself half-naked, covered in tin foil, breakdancing to “Magic Carpet Ride.” Once somebody sees it, you could have a problem with your total disability claim.

This is also very important for people who are making a personal injury claim. Nowadays just about everybody has some form of social media account, and just about all of them give the use the ability to post pictures or video. As a personal injury lawyer, increasingly I am seeing defense attorneys checking my clients out on the web, including social media accounts. Defense attorneys are also seeking access to these accounts in discovery. I always object to producing social media login information, and so far I have not yet had anyone take the issue before a judge.

But I do advise all of my clients that they should stay off social media entirely while they have a pending claim, or if that’s not possible, they should careful to never post anything that is even arguably inconsistent with the claim they are making- even to the extent of not posting a picture of yourself at a wedding, or outdoors smiling. It is very easy for that to be taken out of context.

Sometimes, it doesn’t even have to be taken out of context. I had a case in the past year where my client had pretty serious, objective injuries- broken clavicle, lacerated kidney, badly sprained ankle. It was a pretty bad accident with solid liability. In discovery, I found out that despite my advice about this very issue, 3 weeks after the collision my client had posted a video to her Facebook account showing her drinking and laughing with friends, and dancing in her sling and walking boot. When I told the client, she said “but I don’t understand, I had my privacy settings on lockdown.” Often on the internet, even what you may think is private really isn’t. Very shortly after I was made aware of this, we settled the case. And it settled at a dollar amount that reflected the new value of the case with the video in evidence, not the old “no video” value.

So for my lawyer and injury victim readers, be very careful about your online presence when you are involved in a claim, because whether you think so or not, it may come back to bite you.

                       

John Bratt

John Bratt is an attorney at Miller & Zois, LLC. He represents injured plaintiffs in all trial and appellate courts in Maryland. He also accepts attorney referrals for all types of civil appeals. MORE >