Florida Accident Attorney

Social Media and Accident Cases

Be Very Careful After an Accident – LOL may become an OMG

You’ve been in a car accident. You’re shaken up, but fortunately you’re not hurt badly. You think the same about the people in the other car.

The next day you share the details with everyone on social media. You post pictures from the scene, your thoughts about what happened, and you even comment about the nice-looking police officer who came to the accident. It all seems harmless and kind of funny.

Florida Accident AttorneyTwo days later you get word that someone in the other car is actually injured far more seriously than you thought, and you realize it might be better if some of the things you posted on the internet remained private. Quickly you delete everything you posted and you’re all in the clear. Right?

That’s not entirely accurate.

In today’s high-tech world not only are the images and text messages you deleted still somewhere on your computer or smart-phone, they’re on your friend’s devices as well. They’re also in a place known as “the cloud” which means they are now part of a virtual world where they can be accessed by almost anyone. Forever.

Electronically stored information, or ESI, is a very significant part of almost every legal case today. Nothing is ever really deleted, and through a process known as legal discovery your pictures, emails, and text messages can be recovered and used as evidence in a court of law. There are companies that specialize in extracting ESI and they are very proficient.

Everyone has a duty and a legal responsibility to be forthcoming and to tell the truth when speaking with a police officer or when giving statements under oath. However, no one has to publish potentially damaging evidence across the internet for the whole world to see.

There are real-life examples of people who doomed their court cases and settlements because of things they posted online. Insurance companies will do everything and anything they can to avoid paying damages and they will scour the internet trying to find something incriminating related to a victim who is completely innocent of any negligence in a personal injury case.

In the time gap between an accident and your first phone call to an attorney, it’s in your best interest to remain silent.

Securing the counsel of a qualified attorney after any accident is a very prudent decision. Your attorney can advise you on your rights as well as your responsibilities pertaining not only to your injuries and/or damages, but your right to not self-incriminate.

Personal Injury Experts

These are complex areas of law, and the Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus is very experienced with social media as it relates to personal injury cases. Calling 954-356-0006 immediately after you are involved in any accident or personal injury incident will put you in touch with Gary and Arleen Lazarus, who have been advising victims for over 23 years.