How Social Media Can Derail Your Personal Injury Claim
How Social Media Can Derail Your Personal Injury Claim
09.23.25
In today’s hyperconnected world, many of us routinely post updates, photos, location check-ins, or comments about how we’re feeling. But if you’re pursuing a personal injury claim, your digital footprint can become a legal liability. Opposing counsel, insurance adjusters, and courts increasingly treat social media content as discoverable evidence. What seems like an innocuous post can become fodder to undermine your credibility, reduce your recovery, or even get your case dismissed.
Below, we explore the risks, real-world examples, legal groundwork, and best practices to protect your claim.
Why Social Media Matters in Personal Injury Litigation
1. Social Media = Evidence
Social media content (posts, photos, videos, check-ins, comments) is routinely used in personal injury cases as digital evidence. Courts often admit this evidence under the same rules as other evidence, provided it’s authenticated, relevant, and properly preserved.
Even private or “friends only” content can be compelled during discovery if deemed relevant by the court.
2. Contradiction & Credibility Attacks
One of the most common uses of social media by defense teams is to find contradictions:
A plaintiff claims debilitating back pain and inability to walk, but their Instagram shows them hiking or gardening.
Posts indicating travel, social events, or physical activity can cast doubt on claims of severe limitation or emotional distress.
Casual remarks like “feeling better” or “got through a good day” might be construed as admissions that symptoms have improved.
These contradictions are leveraged to argue that the plaintiff is exaggerating, malingering, or otherwise misrepresenting their condition.
3. Discovery Battles & Spoliation Risk
Because social media is so integral, legal teams often fight over access. Discovery requests (or subpoenas) may demand your full social media history, including message attachments, metadata, or deleted content.
Attempting to delete or alter posts once litigation is foreseeable can backfire severely. Courts may draw adverse inferences (i.e., assume the deleted content was unfavorable) or impose sanctions for spoliation.
4. Indirect Damage: Friends, Tags, Comments
It’s not just your own posts that matter:
Others’ posts or tags of you in seemingly innocuous settings can be introduced.
Comments threads, mentions, or engagement on posts can muddy the waters or supply new “evidence.”
Thus, you can be “caught” by someone else’s online commentary—even if you never intended it to be part of your case.
5. Settlement Leverage & Insurance Scrutiny
Even before trial, insurance adjusters and defense lawyers comb social media to weaken your claim. A social media post they regard as contradictory can become leverage to reduce settlement offers or force you to accept less.
In one cautionary example, a claimant’s hiking photos were used to challenge claimed injuries, reducing their compensation.
Example Cases Involving Social Media Evidence
1. Romano v. Steelcase Inc. (New York, 2010)
In Romano, the plaintiff claimed she suffered permanent injuries (neck/back) that limited her daily life and enjoyment of activities.
The defendant asked for access to her private Facebook and MySpace pages, including deleted content, arguing that her social media posts contradicted her claim of being homebound.
The court granted the motion, finding that social media content was relevant to questions of credibility and the extent of injury, and ordered her to provide authorizations for social media records.
Notably, the decision recognized that a user’s “reasonable expectation of privacy” over their social media is limited when the content is material and relevant to the litigation.
2. Forman v. Henkin (New York Court of Appeals, 2018)
This is a landmark New York case that set standards for how private social media posts may be discoverable. FORMAN v. HENKIN
Facts & Legal Holding:
Plaintiff, Kelly Forman, alleged severe injuries from falling off a horse (spinal, cognitive, communication limitations) that impaired her lifestyle.
Defendant moved to compel disclosure of her private Facebook material (photos, messages, metadata).
The Court of Appeals reversed parts of the lower court’s expansive order but held that private posts are not categorically off-limits just because they are private. The test: whether the materials are “reasonably calculated to contain relevant information” to the plaintiff’s claims.
The court emphasized the need to balance discovery utility and privacy concerns, and ordered that disclosure be tailored (only relevant portions).
Thus Forman clarified that “private” does not automatically mean “undiscoverable,” especially when the plaintiff puts lifestyle, cognitive capacity, or functional limitations at issue.
3. Other Cases & Situations (Less Famous, but Illustrative)
Scott v. U.S. Postal Service (cited in commentary) — a case in which a plaintiff’s social media posts showing physical activity were used to counter claims of disabling injury.
King v. Shabab (New York) — applying Forman, courts have awarded discovery sanctions or dismissal based on failure to produce social media evidence, when the plaintiff’s Instagram or online activity was relevant to claims.
To understand why social media content is fair game, here are a few legal principles:
Relevance & Admissibility: Social media posts are admissible if relevant to proving or disproving any fact in the case.
Authentication: Courts require proof that a post came from you (or someone authorized) and wasn’t tampered with. This may include metadata, account logs, or testimony.
Proportionality / Overreach: Discovery of social media must be proportional and not a fishing expedition. Courts sometimes limit overly broad requests.
No Safe Haven via Privacy Settings: Private accounts or restricted settings do not necessarily protect content from being discoverable.
Spoliation & Adverse Inference: Deleting relevant content after notice of potential litigation can lead courts to penalize you.
Because of these principles, courts and attorneys treat your online presence as part of your “case file.”
Best Practices: What You Should (and Shouldn’t) Do
To protect your claim, here are prudent guidelines:
Suspend new posts: The safest route is to refrain from posting anything about your injury, case, or daily life that could be misinterpreted.
Lock down privacy settings: Though not foolproof, restrict who sees your content. But don’t rely on “private” to shield evidence.
Document carefully: If you capture photos or progress logs of your injury (e.g. wound healing, rehabilitation), do so under guidance from your attorney so it doesn’t backfire.
Do a social media audit: Remove or hide any old posts that could be contradictory (but only after legal counsel advises).
Warn your contacts: Ask friends/family not to tag you in photos, discuss your case publicly, or post about your condition.
Things to Avoid
Don’t post about or discuss your accident, injuries, claims, or settlement demands online.
Don’t express opinions that might be construed as admissions (e.g. “I messed up,” “I’m okay now,” etc.).
Don’t attempt to delete historic posts once you or your attorney reasonably foresee litigation—doing so risks spoliation.
Avoid interactions or commentary that could link you to others discussing the case.
If You Must Use Social Media
If you absolutely must use social media (e.g. to post emergencies, life events unrelated to your case):
Limit posts to strictly neutral content (e.g. news, generic updates) without detail about your health.
Never respond to comments about the accident, insurance, or litigation.
Do not “check in” at locations or tag physical achievements that could be interpreted as evidence against your claim.
Let Us Help You
Social media may feel harmless, but in a personal injury case it can be one of the biggest threats to your credibility and recovery. Even a single photo or comment can be taken out of context and used against you. The safest move is to stay offline and let your attorney guide you on what’s appropriate.
If you’ve been injured in South Carolina, contact Mastantuno Law Firm today for a free consultation. 📞 (843) 720-3749 🌐 mastantuno.com
