Your cellphone can be an effective tool for helping you gather evidence after you’ve been injured in a traffic accident. But most personal injury attorneys in California will tell you never to post on social media while your traffic accident case is ongoing. While that advice is sound—almost anything you say or do can and will likely be used to minimize your settlement amount—social media can also be a helpful tool. In fact, with a little forethought and finesse, social media can be invaluable during a traffic accident claim.
How Social Media Can Help You During a Traffic Accident Claim
1) Need a Personal Injury Attorney? Ask for Recommendations
Chances are someone you know has been hurt in a crash. (Statistics show that Californians are all-too-likely to be involved in a traffic accident within their lifetimes.) Chances are that someone got through a traumatic traffic accident case with the help of a good personal injury attorney. That’s the type of attorney you want—someone who will put your needs first. The best way to find that reliable resource is to trust your friends and family. So ask around.
Reach out to friends and family via Facebook and other social sites but do so smartly. Just ask for referrals—don’t offer up any details about your accident. You don’t want to give insurance adjusters or attorneys anything they can use to minimize your traffic accident claim. Indeed, be smart and avoid the five things you should never post on social media after an accident.
2) Friends Don’t Know any Lawyers? Dig Deeper
The professional social network site LinkedIn is a wonderful place to find good personal injury attorneys in California. The site allows you to search, research, and contact lawyers to help you with your traffic accident claim. Each profile should include:
- Links to the lawyer’s website
- Testimonials from previous clients
- Professional associations
- Certifications
- And maybe even example settlement results
But don’t settle for the first lawyer you see. Do a little digging. This person is going to be the one representing your best interests during your traffic accident case. Make sure you choose the right personal injury attorney for YOU!
3) Need Witnesses? Get Social
Eye witnesses are a wonderful asset when trying to support your traffic accident claim. But it’s not always easy to get contact info for these individuals immediately after a crash. You’re hurt. Scared. Unsure about what to do. The last thing you’re doing is thinking calmly. And, unfortunately, many times that valuable eye witness simply vanishes into the chaos.
That’s where social media can come to the rescue.
Sites like NextDoor, and Craigslist allow people to post free ads that reach friends and neighbors. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets let friends and family share those ads. That’s a wide net you can cast looking for those lost eye witnesses.
Just be mindful not to post anything that could potentially be used against you. Indeed, be succinct, to the point, and use only facts in your posting. For example, say something like:
“Searching for anyone who may have seen the car accident which occurred at the intersection of Devonshire and Reseda on November 12th at roughly 10 AM.”
Don’t add comments, leading information, or anything that might shift liability onto your shoulders.
Keep in mind that it’s your responsibility to vet any responses you may get. While you may find real eye witnesses off the bat, you may also get people that are just “trolling” message boards.
4) Turn the Tables
It’s true that social media can dramatically impact your personal injury claim if you use it incorrectly. But the reverse is also true. When you use it wisely it can support your traffic accident claim.
Use social media to gather information about the at fault party (or parties) involved in your traffic accident. Scour their social profiles for postings about the accident including their actions before or after the crash. Screenshot anything interesting you find and be sure to bring this evidence to your personal injury attorney’s attention. If you have a good personal injury lawyer, they will have their legal team do a deep social media search on the at-fault party in your traffic accident case.
Just as anything you post may be used to shift liability onto your shoulders, anything they post can be used to shift that liability back.
Smart Use of Social Media Can Help Support Your Traffic Accident Case
Contacting an experienced personal injury attorney in California is the best way to get great advice on how to proceed with your traffic accident claim. A good lawyer can give you advice on how to use social media to your best advantage, what to expect from the financial recovery process, and how to maximize your personal injury claim. Don’t derail your traffic accident case simply because you don’t know what to do next. Get FREE online traffic accident case evaluation and secure the financial compensation you deserve.
