After a frightening car accident occurs, you may want to alert your loved ones about what happened and let friends know you are okay. You may even want to vent about the idiot driver who caused your crash.

Some will turn to social media and post pictures and make comments about the traffic accident. That’s understandable, but hitting “send” can also hurt your case when it comes time to hold an at-fault driver liable for your recovery costs.

Our skilled attorneys want to offer you a few reasons why you must stay off digital platforms while you’re involved in a car accident claim.

Build a Strong Car Accident Insurance Claim by Putting Your Phone Down

After an accident on a California freeway or boulevard, the process to determine who’s responsible for ambulance fees and body repairs can become a real battle.

Car insurance companies have learned to seek any advantage to save them money. The posts you make to “X” or Facebook can provide this advantage.

In high-value cases (involving serious injuries and/or a totaled car), insurers will be sure to comb over any social media posts, looking for photos and comments they can twist to their favor.

These are a few of the ways accident victims can leave themselves vulnerable on social media:

• Appearing to Admit Fault – You might post a comment that could be twisted by an insurance company. You could post “my bad” or imply that you caused the wreck in some other way. You could even believe that you caused an accident, only to find out later that the other driver made the error. It’s better to stop typing and let your California car accident lawyer speak for you.
• Saying You’re Fine – You might want to alert family and friends that you’ll be okay. But saying “I’m okay” might imply that you aren’t hurt at all. At least that’s the way an insurance adjuster will skew it. You also might feel okay right after an impact. But the shock of the crash can mask injury symptoms. You may wake up the next morning in real pain and find out you’ve got a hairline fracture. Don’t comment on your health.
• Posting Pictures – You might post pictures from the scene that can be purposely misinterpreted by shady insurance adjusters. You could also upload photos in the weeks ahead, highlighting the activities you participate in or the events you’ve attended. An unfair adjuster could try to use these photos to claim that you aren’t injured or that your injuries aren’t as bad as your doctors claim. Give any photos from the scene to your lawyer and avoid posting about your daily activities.
• Tags from Your Friends – You might not post any pictures, but your friends and family may take photos of you participating in activities or while you’re on vacation. They can tag your account, which has the same results as if you posted them yourself. Don’t allow any photo that could be twisted to hurt your case to make it to a social media site like Instagram or Bluesky.

Why Should I Avoid Recorded Statements When Talking to an Insurance Adjuster?

Just like insurance adjusters can twist your comments online, they’ll attempt to bend your statements over the phone, too.

After an accident, the at-fault driver’s auto insurance provider will phone you at some point. You can give them basic information, but you want to avoid giving them a recorded statement.

Insurance adjusters will ask for such a statement, but you can politely decline. You aren’t legally required to. Once these statements are down on file, they can be twisted to support any argument. An insurer can make it appear that you accepted the blame for what happened or that you were feeling fine after the crash.

They do this in hopes they can get away with rejecting your claim or giving you far less than you’ll need to recover. Avoid this situation altogether.

If your accident involves a serious injury, you should have a California car accident lawyer representing your case. Refer any insurance calls to your attorney. Your attorney handles these frustrating interactions, while you are free to focus on getting better.

Support for California Accident Victims

If you or a loved one is seriously injured due to the carelessness of another driver, discuss your options with a real California car accident lawyer. We provide a free, no-obligation consultation to all traffic accident victims.

A lawyer helps protect you from false accusations made by a car insurance company that can cost you the support you need to fully recover. A Maison Law attorney can also often earn you much more than you could earn handling a claim yourself.

If you do feel we can help you earn more, you won’t need to find any money to hire us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the money a car insurance company is forced to pay you.