Wendy M. Schiller-Nichols

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Are You Being Watched? If You're Injured and Pursuing a Claim for Injuries: Social Media Could Tweet Disaster

By Michael Nichols
Categories: Wendy M. Schiller-Nichols

In this day and age, the insurance companies are not making it easy whatsoever for you to realize the financial damages to which you are entitled under Michigan's No Fault Insurance Act. If you have been injured in a car accident or been wronged by a doctor, you need to watch what you are posting on social media. Wendy Schiller-Nichols says: "we are learning that when your case is submitted to a defense attorney (the attorney who represents the insurance companies), one of the first things they will do is look you up on social media." She adds: "they look for anything and everything that will help their case and hurt yours. They are searching for pictures, vacation pictures, holiday pictures, and they look for the date of the accident to see if you have written anything about the accident."

If you are seriously injured in an automobile accident and you claim you suffered a traumatic brain injury, it would be the icing on their cake to find pictures of you on Facebook during the Thanksgiving holiday playing a complicated board game. Or if you are claiming you cannot lift over 25 pounds but on Facebook you post a picture of you picking up your 60 pound niece, that will not "play well." Schiller-Nichols, who has settled a case for over a million dollars in her career says: "these kinds of things make the insurance companies sing 'Hallelujah,' so don’t do it."

If you have been injured in an accident, keep the pictures on your phone or in the cloud until your case is completed. We understand that part of your intention in capturing the moment is to document for yourself that you are working hard to get back to as normal as normal can be after tragedy. The insurance company will not be understanding. Make sure your family members refrain from posting pictures of you during the period that your case is pending. If you have been injured either by a vehicle crash or medical malpractice, call our team of lawyers with over 50 years of combined experience and who are committed to results: you can find the Nichols Law Firm at 517-432-9000 for a free consultation.