New York Malpractice & Injury Lawyer Blog
If you are like millions of people around the world, you have at least one social media account. The most popular account with which to share your information is, hands down, Facebook.
Imagine that you are injured due to a doctor’s negligence. You file a medical malpractice lawsuit to seek compensation for your injuries. If you were your attorney and you looked through your social media account, what would you think? What if you were the judge or the jury? Look at your social media account from a different perspective. Would you believe you if you were sitting on a jury?
Your social media account can make or break your medical malpractice case. Here are some tips to follow to help keep your account from ruining your case.
1. Don’t add new friends.
This is a best practice while your case is making its way through court. If you do add new friends, make absolutely certain you know who they are. It isn’t unheard of for a defense attorney to try to friend a plaintiff on Facebook using their own name or that of a person they know. This allows the defense attorney to get a good look at your activity.
2. Update your privacy settings.
If you have weak privacy settings, now is the time to update them. Set your security settings as high as they will go. Make sure that only your current friends, if anyone, can see your friends list. Limit who can see posts you are tagged in. You do not want any of your settings set to “public.”
3. Ask family and friends to stop sharing with you.
This is just while your case is pending. You want to keep as low a profile as possible. Ask friends and family to refrain from tagging you in posts and photos. Ask that they do not tag you in any posts related to your injury or your case.
4. Do not erase past posts.
You may go through your social media accounts and see posts that you believe could harm your case. As tempting as it may be, don’t delete them. Once your case is pending, deleting any posts or photos from your social media site could be seen as tempering with evidence.
Follow these guidelines to avoid any potential harm to your medical malpractice case. If you believe that there is anything on your social media account that could cause problems for your case, talk to your attorney immediately.
If you believe that you have been harmed by a doctor in New York, call our office today. We will help you schedule an appointment for a free case evaluation.