To every client.

You just posted vacation photos on Instagram showing you smiling at the beach. The problem is that you're currently claiming severe back injuries that prevent you from working or enjoying life. An insurance adjuster just screenshot those photos, and your injury claim value just plummeted by tens of thousands of dollars.

Social media has become one of the most powerful weapons insurance companies use against injury claimants. What you post online, even in seemingly private settings, can and will be used to deny or reduce your claim. Our friends at Andersen & Linthorst discuss how social media creates permanent records that follow us in unexpected ways. A trucking accident lawyer will tell you that social media posts cause more problems for injury claims than almost any other single factor, turning strong cases into settlement nightmares through careless online activity.

How Insurance Companies Monitor Your Social Media

Insurance adjusters don't passively wait for you to make mistakes. They actively search for and monitor your social media presence throughout your claim. Some companies employ investigators who specialize in social media surveillance, searching platforms systematically for content that undermines injury claims.

They'll look at your public Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and any other platforms where you maintain a presence. They'll examine photos, videos, status updates, check-ins, tagged content from friends, comments you make on others' posts, and even your likes and reactions.

Privacy settings don't provide the protection you think they do. Insurance companies use various methods to access content you believe is private. They might send friend requests from fake profiles. They'll look at your friends' public posts where you're tagged. They'll use mutual connections to view your content. In litigation, they can subpoena social media companies directly for your account data.

According to surveys of insurance professionals, social media evidence influences claim outcomes in a substantial percentage of cases. The evidence is seen as particularly credible because you created it voluntarily, without knowing it would be used against you.

What Insurance Companies Look For

Adjusters search social media for specific types of content that contradicts your injury claims or suggests you're exaggerating damages.

Photos and Videos Showing Physical Activity

Any images of you engaging in physical activities that seem inconsistent with claimed injuries become ammunition. You claim you can't lift anything heavy, but there's a photo of you holding your grandchild. You say you're unable to stand for long periods, but there's a video of you at a concert. You report debilitating back pain, but pictures show you skiing.

Context doesn't matter to insurance companies. That photo of you holding your grandchild might have been taken on your one good day after weeks of pain, and you might have suffered for days afterward. But the insurance company will present it as proof you're lying about your limitations.

Social Activities and Travel

Check-ins at restaurants, bars, sporting events, or vacation destinations suggest you're able to enjoy life despite claiming significant pain and suffering damages. Photos from trips show you're mobile and active, contradicting testimony about how injuries limit your daily life.

Even attending a social gathering can be weaponized. If you claim depression and social isolation from your injuries, photos of you at a party undermine those damages.

Exercise and Recreation Content

Posts about workouts, runs, hikes, or recreational sports directly contradict claims of physical limitations. Fitness app data shared on social media provides detailed evidence of your activity levels that can be compared against what you told doctors and claimed in legal proceedings.

Statements About Your Condition

Anything you write about how you're feeling gets scrutinized. A post saying "feeling great today!" or "back in action!" seems innocuous but contradicts claims of ongoing severe pain. Complaints about being bored at home suggest you're not as injured as claimed since truly injured people focus on pain, not boredom.

Work-Related Posts

If you're claiming lost wages or inability to work, any content suggesting you're working gets flagged immediately. LinkedIn updates about projects, business-related posts, photos from work settings, or comments about work activities all undermine disability claims.

Real Examples Of Social Media Destroying Claims

We've seen strong injury cases fall apart because of social media posts. A client claiming permanent disability from a back injury posted photos from a fishing trip, resulting in complete claim denial despite legitimate medical evidence of injury. Another client's workers' compensation claim was denied after the insurance company found Facebook posts about home renovation projects he completed while supposedly unable to work.

A plaintiff claiming severe emotional distress posted cheerful vacation photos that the defense used to argue she wasn't really suffering psychological damages. The jury awarded significantly less than the case was worth based largely on those social media posts.

These aren't isolated incidents. Social media evidence appears in countless cases, often tipping the balance from fair settlement to inadequate offer or from winning at trial to losing.

What You Should Never Post During A Claim

Certain types of content are particularly dangerous and should be completely avoided while your injury claim is pending.

Don't post:

• Photos or videos of yourself doing any physical activity
• Updates about your health, injuries, or recovery
• Check-ins at locations outside your home
• Travel plans or vacation content
• Exercise or fitness-related content
• Comments about your case, the accident, or legal proceedings
• Complaints about being bored or having nothing to do
• Celebratory posts about feeling good or having a great day
• Anything showing you working or engaging in hobbies

Basically, if you have an active injury claim, your social media presence should go completely silent. The safest approach is to deactivate accounts entirely until your case resolves.

Privacy Settings Are Not Protection

Making your accounts private helps, but don't rely on privacy settings as meaningful protection. Determined investigators find ways around privacy barriers, and courts often order disclosure of social media content during litigation regardless of privacy settings.

Once litigation begins, the opposing side can request all your social media content through discovery. You might be required to provide login credentials, friend the opposing attorney, or authorize the social media companies to turn over your data. Refusing these requests can result in sanctions or adverse inferences that you're hiding damaging information.

Even deleted content isn't truly gone. Social media companies retain data that can be subpoenaed. Digital forensics can recover supposedly deleted posts. And screenshots taken by others preserve content even after you remove it from your account.

Friends And Family Can Hurt Your Claim

You might control what you post, but you can't control what others post about you. Friends and family members who tag you in photos, check you in at locations, or post about activities you did together create evidence against your claim.

Ask your close contacts not to post anything about you while your case is pending. Untag yourself from posts where you appear. Monitor what others are saying about you online and request removal of problematic content when possible.

A single post from a well-meaning friend showing you at a birthday party can undo months of careful claim management. Insurance investigators specifically look at your friends' and family members' accounts for information about you.

What About LinkedIn And Professional Platforms

Professional networking sites create their own risks. LinkedIn updates about job changes, new projects, or professional accomplishments contradict claims that injuries prevent you from working or advancing in your career.

Skills endorsements, recommendations, or profile updates suggesting active professional engagement undermine disability claims. Even connection requests and activity on the platform indicate a level of professional functioning inconsistent with severe injury claims.

If your claim involves lost earning capacity or career limitations, keep your LinkedIn profile static. Don't update it, don't post content, and consider making it invisible to public searches.

The Impact Of Social Media Evidence At Trial

When cases go to trial, social media posts become powerful exhibits. Defense attorneys project your vacation photos, your exercise posts, and your cheerful status updates on big screens in front of juries. They contrast these images with your testimony about suffering and limitations.

Juries find social media evidence highly persuasive. Unlike testimony that can be dismissed as self-serving, social media posts are seen as authentic glimpses into your real life. You created this content voluntarily before knowing it would be used in court, making it seem more truthful than anything you say on the witness stand.

One photo can outweigh hours of medical testimony. Jurors look at an image of you hiking and think "this person isn't really hurt," regardless of medical evidence explaining that you had one good day or that the activity caused you significant pain afterward.

Handling Requests To Connect During Claims

If you receive friend requests or connection requests from people you don't know during your claim, be suspicious. Insurance investigators create fake profiles to gain access to private content. They use real-looking names, profile pictures, and background information to seem legitimate.

Don't accept friend requests from strangers. Don't accept requests from friends of friends you've never met. Be cautious about any new connections during the claims process.

If opposing counsel or investigators send you direct connection requests, decline them and report this to your attorney immediately. These attempts to access your private content might violate ethical rules or legal standards.

What You Can Do Instead

Staying completely off social media during your claim is difficult, especially for younger people who use these platforms daily. If you can't completely abstain, follow strict rules to minimize damage.

Never mention your accident, injuries, medical treatment, or legal case. Don't respond to comments or questions about your situation. Don't argue with people online about your claim or defend yourself against skeptics.

Don't post photos or videos of yourself, even innocent ones. Any image can be misinterpreted or taken out of context. Don't check in anywhere or tag locations. Don't share your location data.

Consider temporarily deactivating accounts rather than just reducing activity. Inactive accounts can't create new problematic content, and deactivation can be reversed after your case settles.

Correcting The Record

If damaging social media content already exists from before you understood these risks, discuss with your attorney whether to delete it or leave it. Deleting content after a claim starts can be characterized as destroying evidence, potentially worse than leaving problematic posts visible.

Your attorney might advise leaving content in place and preparing explanations for it rather than creating additional problems through deletion. Or they might determine that removing certain content is appropriate if done properly and disclosed in litigation.

Never delete anything without consulting your attorney first. Evidence destruction, even of your own social media posts, can result in serious legal consequences including case dismissal or sanctions.

The Bottom Line On Social Media And Injury Claims

Your social media activity can make or break your injury case. Insurance companies actively search for content to use against you, privacy settings provide minimal protection, and even innocent posts get twisted to undermine valid claims. The safest approach is complete social media silence from the moment of your injury until your case fully resolves. One careless post can cost you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in compensation you legitimately deserve, making that Instagram update or Facebook post the most expensive few seconds of typing you'll ever do.