By Alex Stalvey
Your social media activity—public or private—can reduce the value of your slip and fall case.
Defense attorneys and insurance companies actively review plaintiffs’ online posts. The more significant the claim, the more scrutiny they will apply to your and your family’s feeds.
If they find content that conflicts with your injury claims, they’ll use it to dispute your case. That includes photos showing physical activity, travel, or literally anything that suggests your injuries aren’t as limiting as reported.
Think your private settings have you covered? Think again.
Private settings don’t matter. Courts can subpoena private posts and even deleted content.
We tell our clients to limit social media use during litigation.
Don’t discuss your injuries. Don’t post updates.
Even casual content can be used against you. And it doesn’t take much. Photos of you walking your dog, going out to dinner, attending a concert, or smiling on vacation can all be used to argue that you’re exaggerating your injuries. A check-in at the gym. A story showing you running errands. Comments under a friend’s post saying you “feel fine.” All of these open the door for the defense to challenge the extent of your pain, your limitations, or your need for ongoing care.
If you’re claiming back or leg injuries, and there’s footage of you standing for long periods or dancing at a wedding, that matters. If you post that you’re “back to normal,” even if you meant emotionally, expect it to be read literally.
Here’s the problem. Social media is everywhere. More than 80 percent of Americans have at least one social media account, with most spending over two hours online daily.
That’s a significant amount of exposure—and risk.
Ninety-one percent of civil court judges have admitted social media evidence in their courtrooms, with personal injury cases leading the way. One study showed digital evidence from social platforms played a key role in over 500,000 personal injury cases between Fall 2022 and Fall 2023. Lawyer Monthly recently shared results of a study that showed 52 percent of attorneys report an increase in lawsuits tied to information pulled from smartphones and social media.
Think the delete button has you covered?
Deleting a post doesn’t erase risk. Courts can subpoena deleted content, and platforms often retain the data. CSO Online called out one New York criminal case, in which a judge allowed prosecutors access to deleted tweets without a warrant, ruling that the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy.
Deleted content can also be recovered through forensic analysis and used against you in civil cases, including personal injury.
And it’s not all about you.
This advice doesn’t just apply to the individual because defense attorneys and insurance companies don’t just look at your social media. They also monitor the feeds of your family, friends, and anyone you’re tagged by or interact with regularly. If your spouse posts a vacation photo that shows you walking on the beach, or a friend tags you at an event, that content can be discovered, subpoenaed, and used to challenge your injury claims.
Courts have ruled that content shared publicly—or accessible via mutual connections—can be considered admissible, even if you didn’t post it yourself. If you’re in litigation, it’s wise to ask close contacts to avoid tagging you, posting about you, or uploading photos that involve you.
These aren’t rare exceptions. This is the reality of litigation today. Social media is the defense’s best witness.
What you share online has consequences. Treat it like evidence—because it is.
Do you have questions about what to do after a slip-and-fall accident? Contact us today for a free consultation.
