Why Does My Lawyer Want Me to Close My Facebook Account?

If Your Lawyer Insists That You Close Your Facebook Account, Find a New Lawyer

So, your accident lawyer told you to close your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media accounts. Do you really have to close your accounts?

No. You don’t have to close your social media accounts, but you might have to find another lawyer. Not all injury lawyers will require you to close your social media accounts. We do not require clients to close their accounts.

We request that you be careful with what you post on your accounts, and we want you to understand that you could damage your injury case.

Why Accident Lawyers Ask You to Close Your Social Media Accounts

Let’s start with why an accident lawyer would ask you to close your accounts. The reason is that you may post photos you think are okay but, in fact, could either damage your case or make it more difficult to settle.

The obvious one is a photo of you doing something you claim you can’t do any longer. That photo of you skydiving will make it next to impossible to claim that you have pain when going up or down stairs.

Even if you don’t post the photo, someone else could post a photo of you on their account. Your friend who was skydiving with you may post a photo of both of you on his Facebook account. A mutual friend sees you in the photo and tags your image with your name. Your photo just became easily discoverable.

Less obvious are the normal photos, such as one of you holding a baby. You may have testified at your deposition that you can’t lift more than 10 pounds, but that baby you’re holding in the photo may weigh 15 pounds.

Your entire history and all your old photos can be seen. It’s possible these photos don’t portray the kind of life you claim to have given up because of your injuries. You may also have had a previous injury or accident, which could be discovered from your account.

If you make your profiles and postings public, this information can be used against you in your lawsuit. If you make your profile private, an insurance adjuster or defense attorney may be able to have access to your photo if a friend shares your photo.

Even if your social media accounts are set to private, the defense attorney may be able to get a court order ordering you to turn over your usernames and passwords.

Is It Legal for an Insurance Company to Access My Social Media Account If It’s Private?

It is legal for an insurance company to access your social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and others.

First, if your accounts are not private and can be viewed by anyone, insurance companies can view them. They can view your social media accounts to determine your premium or your renewal premium, to look for evidence to defend against your personal injury claim, or for any other reason.

Insurance companies cannot view your social media accounts to determine your premium if they are private and you don’t give them permission.

Insurance companies routinely view your social media accounts if you file a personal injury lawsuit, even if your social media accounts are private. However, they can’t search your accounts without your written authorization.

Why would you authorize an insurance company to look at your social media accounts when you litigate a personal injury case? The court may require you to provide the insurance company with authorizations to view your social media accounts. If a court requires it, and you don’t comply, your personal injury lawsuit could be dismissed.

If I have a personal injury case, can an insurance company always look at my social media accounts?

No. The insurance company is not allowed to go on a “fishing expedition” to see if there is anything in your social media accounts showing your injury is not as bad as you claim or even that your claim is bogus.

The insurance company must provide evidence to the court showing that there is a good reason to believe there is something in your social media account they need to defend their insured against your personal injury case.

We Don’t Ask You to Close Your Social Media Accounts

We won’t ask you to close your social media accounts. Just be careful.

Attorney Phil Franckel owns a substantial amount of shares in Meta (Facebook) for transparency.

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