If you’ve sustained a work injury, then you know there is so much to keep up with: from filing injury reports to keeping up with medical records. What you might not have considered is how your latest tweet or selfie could be damaging your workers’ compensation case.
Insurance companies are always looking for anything that might cast doubt on the validity of a claim. For instance, if there was no witness, if there are conflicting reports of how the injury occurred, or if there was a delay in reporting the claim, then an insurer will want to look for other means to verify the claim. One such method is using social media.
Insurers will often use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media sites, to investigate your activities to look for contradictions to your claims. For example, if you were to post a selfie of yourself on vacation, when you’re supposedly taking time for recovery, the insurance company may see that as grounds to cancel your benefits. Other things they look for would be any evidence that you’re doing physical activity not related to your recovery, like posting pictures of yourself playing sports or working out at the gym. They also might look to see if you mention working at a second job. Basically they’re looking for anything that would show that your injury is not as debilitating as you claim it is or that you’re not taking your recovery seriously.
Of course that’s not to say you shouldn’t use social media! Just be aware of what you’re posting, and use common sense. Think about how the insurer is going to view your post. What might feel well within your work restrictions to you, might not to an insurance company. When in doubt, don’t post it!
