When you get hurt on the job, one of the things you might think is reasonable is to post about your injury online. After all, your family and friends are all going to see your social media update, so it’s easier to explain what happened with a post.
Before you do that, remember that social media isn’t the best idea after an injury. Why? You may say or post something that negates what you’ve told the workers’ compensation insurer, and you could end up having your claim denied.
How could social media hurt your claim?
Imagine this scenario. You post an image from the workplace showing the accident. You go to the hospital and take a few photos while you’re waiting for treatment. Later, you make another post about your day.
An insurer who sees that you were actively posting on social media while seeking treatment or at the scene may question just how seriously hurt you were, if at all. This is because those with serious injuries tend not to be concerned with social media or contacting others. Instead, they’re focused on their health and treatment completely during the initial emergency.
Social media can also hurt your claim if you respond to questions in a way that makes you seem less severely injured than you are. For example, if someone asks if you are okay and you write, “I’m fine!” then your insurer or employer may argue that you admitted that you were feeling fine in text.
Staying off social media following your accident is important to protecting your right to make a claim. By staying off social media, you’ll avoid serious complications like having the insurer, your employer or your colleagues claim that you aren’t as badly injured as you say you are. Don’t give the other parties anything to suggest that you aren’t injured or can return to work.
If you have questions about your claim or you have posted on social media and had your claim denied, then you may need to look into further legal support to make sure your workers’ compensation claim is handled correctly.