BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU POST

Social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and others have become increasingly popular in recent years.   It is a great way for people to feel connected, and let others know what you are doing.   However, for claimants in a workers compensation claim, there are dangers that they might be unaware of.  Since these social networking sites are public sites, they are open to anyone, including employers and insurers.  So an injured employee should be very careful about what they post on any of these sites.   This is especially true in regards to posting any pictures or video of themselves.  As the saying goes, a picture, (and especially a video, which is a whole series of pictures), is worth a thousand words.  It is likely that any images posted by an injured employee on one of these sites would be admissible in court as an admission against interest.  So if, for example, you sprain your ankle at work, and are off work, and then a few weeks later you post video of you dancing at a wedding, if employer or insurer finds this post, they could use this to seriously damage your case.

While social networking sites are a great tool for communicating with family and friends, and sharing information about your life, the workers compensation claimant should be careful what they post on these sites.   If you are not sure whether to post a picture or video, you should probably wait and discuss this with your attorney before you do anything.