If you win a medical malpractice claim against a doctor or hospital, their insurer will have to pay you a large sum of money. Insurers do not like paying out, and medical staff or facilities do not like losing cases, as that harms their reputation. Therefore, both the insurer and those they cover will be looking for ways to deny your claim.
Many insurers and defense attorneys check claimants’ social media for information that could help them contest a claim.
How could what you post online damage your medical malpractice claim?
If you claim a surgeon’s mistake left you needing a wheelchair, posting a photo of you standing up and dancing would weaken your case. Yet, most examples are not that extreme. Insurers seize upon an image or video and interpret it to their advantage.
A photo is a snapshot, and it captures a moment. It does not tell the whole truth, and it does not represent your entire life. When you suffer injuries, the effect they have on you may not be constant. Some days you may have less pain than others, some days you can carry out an activity for longer before getting tired.
A photo of you standing up and hugging someone does not mean you can walk. It may be that the person picked you out of your seat, and the photographer edited the wheelchair out of the frame — but that’s all it could take to sow doubt about your condition and claims.
How can you reduce the chance that social media harms your malpractice claim?
The simplest way would be to avoid posting anything ever again, yet even then, you could get caught in a photo or video a friend takes and posts. If you prefer to continue using social media, you need to think carefully about what you post and tighten your privacy settings. Remember that anything you post on social media is never truly secure.
If the other party uses one of your social media posts to challenge your medical negligence claim, you will need to understand how best to counter their claims. Learning more about the medical malpractice claims process can help.
