When you post online, you hope that someone will read your posts. But did you know that the other party in a personal injury claim might be looking at your social media?
Our experienced Century City personal injury lawyers at LA Century Law explain how social media can affect your personal injury case.
Why Social Media Posts Matter in Personal Injury Claims
Social media posts may matter in multiple ways in a personal injury claim.
- Posts may be offered as admissions of liability, including apologies or other factual statements about what occurred.
- Written posts, photographs, and videos can all be admitted as evidence.
- Plaintiffs and defendants alike may have social media posts admitted against them.
- Social media posts may contradict the plaintiff’s claims about damages, such as showing that the plaintiff is active and doing things they say they can’t do in their formal claim.
- Even non-party witnesses may have social media posts used to impeach their credibility.
- The other side may be searching your social media for family and associates to contact about the case.
California allows social media posts to be admitted in personal injury claims, with proper authentication. An attorney can help you with the technical legal steps to admit social media evidence and use it in your case. Your attorney can also take steps to challenge the other party’s admission of social media posts.
What you say *on social media* can be used against you in a court of law!
If you’re a plaintiff in a personal injury claim, you should know that social media posts matter. It’s always best not to post on social media when you have an injury claim. Even things that seem innocent, such as unrelated photographs, can create questions and uncertainty in your legal case.
Are social media posts evidence in a legal claim?
Yes. Evidence includes testimony or writings offered to prove the existence or non-existence of a fact (Cal. Evid. Code § 140). Relevant evidence is evidence having any tendency to prove or disprove a consequential, disputed fact. (Cal. Evid. Code § 210). Social media posts may be relevant to liability, damages, and other disputed issues in a legal claim.
Are social media posts admissible in a California personal injury case?
Social media posts are admissible in a California personal injury case if they can be authenticated. To authenticate a social media post, the person must offer a sufficient finding that the evidence is what the person offering it says that it is. The burden for admissibility can be met with circumstantial evidence that the posts are what they claim to be.
Social media and the hearsay hurdle
A question to address in using social media in a personal injury case is hearsay. Hearsay is a statement made outside of court offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted (Cal. Evid. Code § 1200). For example, if the plaintiff’s friend posts on Facebook, “Went for a walk with Ezra today,” it’s hearsay if the defense wants to offer it to prove Ezra went for a walk. Instead, the defense needs to call the friend and ask them about seeing Ezra walking.
But there are exceptions to the hearsay rule that may be important for a social media post. First, a statement made by a party’s opponent is not hearsay Cal. Evid. Code § 1220. The other party’s social media post must still be authenticated, but it does not violate the hearsay rule.
Second, a post is not hearsay if it’s not offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. For example, a witness posts, “It was sunny at the time of the crash.” If a party wants to admit the post to show that the witness was able to type and use a computer, the statement isn’t hearsay.
If they want to admit the post to prove that it was sunny at the time of the crash, it’s hearsay.
In addition, a statement may be admitted in exception to hearsay rules if it is adopted as true by a party by words or conduct (Cal. Evid. Code § 1221).
Common Social Media Mistakes To Avoid During a Case
- Posting that you were in an accident, but that you’re “all right”
- Discussing details of the accident
- Uploading photos of the accident
- Sharing injury photos
- Talking about the status of the case
- Disclosing activities, places that you are going, and what you are doing
- Saying your feelings (e.g. “having fun!” or “hurting today”)
- Responding to conversations, even if they seem like they’re about unrelated topics
You can’t possibly anticipate all the ways that an insurance company may use social media against you. It’s simply best not to post during a pending case.
What if the other party doesn’t agree about their social media post?
You can’t expect the other party to admit that their social media post is theirs or that it is accurate. While they may want to explain it away, that may not stop you from admitting the post.
Once the party seeking admission lays a foundation, conflicting testimony goes to the weight of the evidence rather than its admissibility.
California Court Cases About Admitting Social Media in Court
People v. Valdez, 201 Cal. App. 4th 1429 (2011)—allowing posts from a MySpace page in a criminal trial.
In re KB, 238 Cal. App. 4th 989 (2015)—admitting Instagram posts, saying that the foundation doesn’t need to be supplied by the person who took the photographs.
Kinda v. Carpenter, 238 Cal. App. 4th 989 (2016)—an anonymous Yelp review was admitted based on circumstantial evidence.
Contact an Experienced Century City Personal Injury Lawyer
California law is broad in the ways that it allows authentication of social media posts in personal injury claims. A post can change your entire case, either strengthening or unraveling it.
At LA Century Law, we’ve recovered millions in compensation for our clients. We understand how social media can impact a personal injury claim.
Contact LA Century Law and get legal help today.