What You Do In Your Personal Life Might Be Relevant
People sometimes think that what they do in their personal life doesn’t matter when it comes to pursuing a claim for injuries. After all, if you were injured in a car wreck caused by a drunk driver, what does it matter if you like to snowboard on the weekends or if you regularly Tweet about your life? Depending on your case, it might matter – a lot.
Insurance companies routinely spy on people who make injury claims. They troll the Internet looking to see what you post on Facebook and Twitter. They hire people to follow you and video tape your activities. They look at you with suspicion just because you have filed a claim, even if you are only making a claim because someone else’s carelessness injured you.
If you continue to snowboard after you have been injured, an insurance company will likely assume that you aren’t injured and that you are just faking it. They won’t care that you can’t snowboard as often as you used to or that it hurts when you do it or that you can’t do it with the same degree of skill that you had before. All they care about is that you are continuing to snowboard. And, if they have videotape or Facebook posts or Tweets showing you doing it, then your case is really in trouble.
Likewise, if you blog or Tweet about things happening in your life and you comment on your injury and/or the claim you are making, insurance companies can use that against you too. Imagine an insurance adjuster finding a Tweet from you that says “got in another car wreck, my bad, shouldn’t have been texting.” You might have an explanation for that, but an insurance adjuster (and a jury) will conclude that the car wreck was your fault because you weren’t paying attention.
If you have been injured and are making a claim, it is important that you tell your lawyer about your activities and hobbies. It is important for them to know what you are missing out on. More importantly, never, ever do any physical activity that is inconsistent with your injury. If a doctor tells you not to do something or if it hurts (even a little) to do something, don’t do it!
Also, be very, very careful about anything you put on the Internet. Do NOT comment on your injury, your medical treatment, your lawyer, or your claim. If you do, it will almost certainly harm your case.
