How Social Media Can Be Used Against You in a Workers’ Comp Case

The workers’ compensation system in North Carolina theoretically makes it simple for employees hurt on the job to receive medical care and wage benefits without the need to file a personal injury claim. However, the insurance companies that handle workers’ comp claims have become notorious for doing nearly anything they can to avoid paying benefits.

If you have filed a claim or are currently receiving workers’ comp benefits, you may be monitored by the insurance companies or your employer, and that monitoring can include social media accounts that don’t even belong to you. It is important to understand how social media can be used against you to protect your rights.

Your Words Can Come Back to Haunt You

If you post on any social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, or X/Twitter, it can be a great way to connect with other people, but remember that whatever you say online can remain in cyberland indefinitely. Even if you delete a post, it can be captured somewhere and remain as evidence to be used against you. If you write something about work or your injury, even in a post you think is limited to friends, your words could be found and saved. 

Things you say could be taken out of context and used to argue that your injury did not occur at work but was caused by activities in your private life. Or your statements could be used as “proof” that you are not injured as badly as you claim. Most people try to present a positive image on social media, so if you post something simple like “I’m having a great day today,” then the insurance company could argue that you are feeling well enough to return to work.

Pictures Can Give the Wrong Impression

Social media centers on pictures, and these often provide a misleading image of your life. If you post a picture of your granddaughter’s soccer game, the insurance company might argue that if you’re in good enough condition to walk to the field, then you are capable of working. They might not realize that you were carried to the field or pushed in a wheelchair, or that the photo was taken by someone else because you weren’t even there. You need to keep notes of the full situation before posting anything on social media.

Unfortunately, misleading images of you can also be posted by other people who have no idea that the photos could be used to fight your workers’ comp claim. Even if they don’t include your name, companies can use facial recognition software to find images of you on social media.

You might have been sitting in a wheelchair or leaning on crutches when a photo was taken, and the person who posted it might crop the image to remove the support devices to make you look better. If you know that someone is taking a photo of you while you are in the midst of the claims process or are receiving benefits, you might want to request that they not post the images online, but even if you do, they might forget. 

Keeping a daily journal of your activities can help you be prepared with evidence to counteract any assertions that arise from the use of images on social media. If the insurance company says “on day 101, you were healthy enough to get down on the floor to pose for a photo with your dog,” then you can look at your journal and explain you’d had a physical therapy session at your home and the dog came over to join you on your yoga mat. Or if they find an image of you out on a boat, you can explain that your son and nephew were also there with you that day, and they carried you on board and set you up on a cushioned seat, and that the boat remained at the dock all afternoon.

Outdated Information May Be Presented as Evidence

Photo storage services and social media platforms now frequently pull up images you posted years ago and invite you to share them. People also love to post old photos they’ve recently digitized. So the end result is that images of you can appear online today, showing activities you participated in many years ago. Insurance companies sometimes try to present these old images as evidence that your injuries have healed or that you were never hurt to begin with.

Yes, there are stories of foolish workers who post pictures of themselves skydiving while they were supposedly at home recovering from on-the-job injuries, but the reality is that often these photos were taken before the accident and injuries. Remember that some illnesses, such as mesothelioma or other forms of cancer, can be caused by exposure at work, but the illness may not show symptoms until many years later. So, a photo of you on your bicycle might not actually be that old, but it can still depict an image that does not reflect your current capabilities.

Protect Yourself on Social Media

You can’t prevent insurance companies from using information they find on social media in their attempts to deny your claim or discontinue paying benefits, but there are steps you can take to make it more difficult for them to do so:

• For any social media accounts you use, set your privacy settings as high as possible
• Refuse to accept any friend requests for individuals you don’t personally know well
• Do not say anything about your injuries or workers’ comp case, or employment online
• Do not discuss your daily activities online. Stay off social media as much as possible.

During in-person discussions or over the phone, let friends and family know that you are trying to reduce your online presence so that information cannot be used against you. Even information shared via email can sometimes be used to fight your claim, so try not to discuss your injury or other aspects of your case online unless you are communicating with your attorney. Those communications are protected by attorney-client privilege.

Get Help with Your Workers’ Compensation Claim in North Carolina

If the workers’ comp insurer or your employer has denied your claim for benefits after an accident or illness caused by working conditions, you can appeal the outcome and request a hearing. However, it can be difficult to succeed with the appeal unless you are extremely familiar with the process and the requirements for presenting arguments and evidence that are most persuasive to the North Carolina Industrial Commission.

Allow our team to help. At Martin & Jones, we have decades of experience fighting for the rights of injured workers and we know how to work effectively to protect you from the unfair tactics used by workers’ compensation insurers. If you have questions or need assistance with a workers’ comp claim, we may be able to help. Contact us to arrange a free consultation by calling 800-662-1234 or reaching out through our website.