Most of my clients are computer savvy and are on at least one social media site regularly, whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or one of the many others.  These sites can cause major problems with your workers’ compensation or personal injury case depending on what content you share on your site.  Photos, updates and comments can easily be taken out of context. Employers, human resource supervisors and insurance defense lawyers may review your profile to gather evidence against you.

I heard of a case recently where the petitioner posted on Facebook photographs of him riding a motorcycle. Investigators for the insurance company discovered this evidence and determined he was not as disabled as they once thought. In some cases, this can raise the question of fraud. In other cases, it can bring an end to authorized treatment and temporary benefits if there is a mismatch between what you are telling the doctors you can do and what activities you are actually doing.

It is very important that you adjust your privacy settings to limit what someone who is not connected to you can see on your page. Block your profile to all but known friends and avoid “friending” someone that you don’t really know. Search your name to see that what comes up is acceptable and make whatever adjustments are necessary.