Social Media and Your Pedestrian Accident Case

How Social Media Can Hurt Your Case

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Posts Used Against You
- Photos showing physical activity
- Check-ins at locations
- Comments about feeling fine
- Vacation or party photos
- Employment updates

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Defense Tactics
- Monitor your accounts
- Subpoena deleted content
- Friend your friends
- Take screenshots
- Hire investigators

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Real Examples
- Claimed couldn't walk, posted hiking photo
- Said too depressed to work, posted party pics
- Claimed severe pain, checked in at gym

Best Practices During Case

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What NOT to Do
- Don't post about the accident
- Don't discuss your injuries
- Don't post physical activities
- Don't discuss your lawsuit
- Don't friend strangers

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Privacy Settings
- Set everything to private
- Review friend requests carefully
- Audit existing friends
- Check tagged photos settings
- Review location sharing

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What's Safe
- Keep posting ordinary updates
- Share neutral content
- Don't go completely dark (looks suspicious)
- Don't delete old posts (spoliation)

Using Social Media Positively

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Finding Witnesses
- Post asking for witnesses
- Share in local groups
- Community members may help

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Documenting Driver
- Check if driver posted about accident
- Screenshots of admissions
- Evidence of prior bad behavior
- Posts showing impairment

Legal Discovery Issues

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What They Can Access
- Anything public
- Deleted content through subpoena
- Private messages potentially
- Account metadata

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What's Protected
- Attorney-client communications
- Truly private posts (sometimes)
- Content clearly unrelated to case

Special Considerations

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Don't Delete
- Deletion = spoliation of evidence
- Can result in sanctions
- Looks like hiding something
- Courts can force recovery

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Don't Make New Accounts
- Can be discovered
- Suggests consciousness of guilt
- Complicates your case