Being Aware of Your Digital Footprint: How Facebook Can Destroy a Case

Social media can be helpful tool to connect to family, friends and colleagues. However, with sites such as Facebook boasting 750 million users, pictures and posts on social media sites can easily become evidence utilized to destroy a case. Most recently, attorneys have turned to Facebook for evidence in family law and workers compensation cases, where evidentiary rules can be more relaxed.

Facebook has various features that can threaten a plaintiff’s case. For example, “wall” comments or published photos might paint a different picture than the plaintiff’s contentions in the litigation. Additionally, status updates include dates and times that can wholly contradict a plaintiff’s claims about the magnitude of an injury.

Though attorneys need to overcome significant evidentiary hurdles to utilize social media as evidence, litigants should still be cautious in posting any information online. If you or a loved one plan to bring a personal injury lawsuit, it is important to pay close attention to your digital footprint. Because privacy settings are unreliable, you should consider temporarily deactivating your Facebook account until litigation ends.

For questions, contact Broussard, David & Moroux at 1-888-337-2323 (toll free) or 337-233-2323 (local).