Social Media and Other Mistakes That Hurt Your Case

In thirty years of practicing law and nineteen before that as a police officer, I have watched good cases lose value for reasons that had nothing to do with the crash. The injury was real. The other driver was at fault. And then the injured person did something, usually innocent, usually in the first few weeks, that handed the insurance company a weapon. This chapter is the list I wish every client had read on day one.

Social media

Posting photos and updates

Assume that everything you post will be read by the adjuster, the defense lawyer, and eventually a jury. A photograph of you smiling at a cookout becomes "the plaintiff was out socializing three weeks after the crash." A post about a weekend trip becomes "the plaintiff was well enough to travel." Context does not survive a courtroom. You can be in pain and still smile for a picture; the defense will show the picture and not the pain.

The safest practice is to stop posting until the case is over. If that is unrealistic, post nothing about the crash, your injuries, your treatment, your activities, or your case, and nothing that shows you doing anything physical. Ask family and friends not to tag you. Set every account to private, understanding that "private" slows the defense down but does not stop it; privacy settings have never prevented a court from ordering production of relevant posts.

Accepting friend requests from strangers

Insurance investigators create accounts and send friend requests. A new "friend" with few posts and no mutual connections who appears a week after your crash is not a coincidence. Decline requests from anyone you do not actually know, on every platform, until your case is resolved.

Deleting posts after the fact

Once you have a claim, deleting posts can be worse than the posts themselves. Ohio recognizes a tort for destruction of evidence: in Smith v. Howard Johnson Co., 67 Ohio St.3d 28 (1993), the Supreme Court of Ohio held that a cause of action exists for willful destruction of evidence designed to disrupt a party's case when litigation is pending or probable. Beyond that, a court can instruct the jury that it may assume deleted evidence was unfavorable to you. The word for this is spoliation, and the defense will use it. Do not delete anything. Stop posting, make accounts private, and tell us what is already out there so we can deal with it.

Talking to the insurance company

Giving a recorded statement

The at-fault driver's adjuster will call within days, sounding friendly, and ask to "get your side of the story" on a recording. You are not required to give one, and you should not. Recorded statements are taken by trained professionals whose job is to lock in your account before you know the extent of your injuries, to get you to minimize ("I'm a little sore"), and to find inconsistencies to use later. A statement to your own insurer may be required by your policy; talk to us before giving that one too. More on this in Dealing With Insurance Adjusters.

Signing blanket authorizations

The adjuster will send a medical authorization form. Read it. Most are written to allow the insurer to collect your entire medical history from every provider you have ever seen, going back years, so it can argue that your back pain is from a 2015 chiropractic visit rather than the crash. Never sign a blanket authorization. Relevant records are provided through your lawyer, limited to the injuries at issue and a reasonable time period.

Talking to the other driver's insurer at all

There is almost nothing you can say to the other driver's insurer that helps you, and plenty that hurts. Give them your name, the fact that you were injured, and your lawyer's contact information. That is all. Remember that you cannot sue the other driver's insurance company directly in Ohio in most situations; your claim is against the driver, and the insurer is simply the entity that pays. Our post on suing the other driver's insurance company in Ohio explains why that matters.

Treatment mistakes

Gaps in treatment

If you wait three weeks after the crash to see a doctor, the defense will argue you were not hurt in the crash. If you stop treating for two months in the middle of your care, the defense will argue you were better and something else happened. Insurance software literally discounts claims for gaps. Go to the doctor promptly, follow the treatment plan, and if you cannot afford a visit or cannot get time off, tell us so we can solve the problem rather than let the gap grow. See Focus on Treatment First.

Missing appointments

Every missed appointment appears in the records as "no-show." A pattern of no-shows reads to a jury as someone who was not really hurt or did not care about getting better. If you have to miss, reschedule immediately and make sure the chart reflects why.

Exaggerating

Nothing destroys a case faster than a plaintiff caught overstating. If you tell your doctor you cannot lift anything and the defense has video of you carrying groceries, the jury will not believe anything else you say, including the parts that are true. Describe your symptoms accurately: what hurts, when, how much, and what you cannot do that you used to do. Accurate is persuasive. Dramatic is fatal.

Minimizing

The opposite mistake is just as common, especially among people who do not like complaining. If you tell the emergency room doctor you are "fine" because you are in shock, or tell your family doctor your neck is "a little stiff" when it has kept you awake for a week, the record will say you were fine and a little stiff. Doctors write down what you tell them. Tell them everything, every visit.

Settlement mistakes

Cashing a check that says "full and final"

Insurers sometimes send a check early, for the property damage or for a modest sum, with language on the check or an accompanying release saying it is full and final payment of all claims. Depositing it can end your injury claim. Read every piece of paper from an insurer before you sign or deposit anything, and send it to us first. A property damage settlement should release the property damage claim only.

Settling with the at-fault driver before your own insurer consents

If you may have an underinsured motorist claim, your policy almost certainly requires your insurer's written consent before you settle with the at-fault driver. Settling without it can forfeit the UIM coverage. We explain the sequence in Using Your Own Insurance.

Waiting too long

Evidence disappears: surveillance video is overwritten in days, vehicles are repaired or scrapped, witnesses move, memories fade. Deadlines run, including the contractual deadline under R.C. 3937.18(H) that your own policy may impose on UM/UIM claims. The people who wait "to see how I feel" are the ones who show up at twenty months with a stack of bills and no evidence. Our chapter on preserving documents explains what to save and when.

Changing lawyers mid-case without a reason

Sometimes a change of counsel is necessary. But switching lawyers because a friend knows someone, or because the case is taking longer than you hoped, usually costs you. The new lawyer starts from zero, the insurer sees instability, and the first lawyer may be entitled to a share of the fee for the work already done. If you are unhappy with your lawyer, say so and give them a chance to fix it. If you are unhappy because the case is slow, read our chapter on the timeline before deciding.

Insurance mistakes

Ignoring your own insurer's notice requirements

Your policy requires prompt notice of a crash and of a potential UM/UIM claim, and may require cooperation, a statement, and a medical examination. Failing to meet those conditions gives your own insurer a reason to deny coverage. Give notice early, in writing, and let us handle the rest.

Driving uninsured

Ohio's financial responsibility law, R.C. 4509.101(A)(1), prohibits operating a vehicle without maintaining proof of financial responsibility, which R.C. 4509.01(K) defines to require at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash in bodily injury coverage. Driving without it brings a license suspension and reinstatement fees.

If you were uninsured when someone else hit you, expect the adjuster to bring it up, sometimes with the suggestion that it affects your claim. Here is the truth. Your lack of insurance is not what caused the other driver to run the light. It is a licensing violation, not negligence, and it does not reduce the at-fault driver's responsibility for your injuries. What it does cost you is practical: you have no MedPay, no collision coverage, and no UM/UIM to fall back on if the other driver is uninsured or underinsured. Do not let an adjuster use guilt to discount a claim that the law does not discount. And if the driver who hit you was uninsured too, see our page on hit-and-run and uninsured driver claims; there may still be coverage you have not thought of.

Key takeaways

• Stop posting, decline strangers, and never delete; spoliation makes a bad post worse.
• Give no recorded statement and sign no blanket authorization for the other driver's insurer.
• Treat promptly and consistently; describe symptoms accurately, neither more nor less.
• Read every check and release before you sign or deposit; get your insurer's consent before settling with the at-fault driver.
• Driving uninsured has real consequences, but it does not reduce the other driver's fault, no matter what the adjuster implies.