Picture this, you work on an offshore rig. One Saturday, you are working fire-watch from the rigs upper deck, when suddenly the rig explodes plunging you into the sea. When you come to in the hospital, you are told you’ve fractured your back and need to be off work for at least 6 months. Burdened by the thought of this – and the lack of funds in your bank account- you panic. With workers comp only paying three quarters of your wage, you decide to sue your boss and slap them with a personal injury claim. Now, anyone who has suffered a back injury will know you have lots of good days and lots of bad ones too.  

One day, you are feeling a little better after going to PT, so you decide to take the dog for a walk on the beach. Your Corgi sees the water and decides to go for a swim. Your dog, who obviously can’t read runs for the water, not knowing there is a swim ban due to a rip tide. Instinctively you run after he, bending down to pick her up, before she dives into the water. Who knew this single act of caring would be your downfall. Unbeknownst to you, the Lawyer representing your boss has had a private investigator following you, just waiting to snap the golden picture. You, and the Corgi just gave them evidence to suggest that you are not as bad off health wise as you indicated. 

Technology, can have adverse effects on any personal injury case. Using Facebook and other forms of social media help to solve many bogus personal injury claims, but the technology can also hurt true personal injury claims. Someone once said, “a picture tells one thousand words” this is true, but the picture isn’t always as it seems.

We can manipulate photographs to show the viewer what the manipulator wants to see. With photo shop, they could splice your image onto the photo of a runner in a charity marathon. A mean feat for a person who is supposed to be laying in bed with 3 slipped discs. While photo’s can be misconstrued, so can social media.  Any good personal injury attorney would tell you to stay off social media, or even delete your accounts. Many lawyers like to use your past posts to “dig up dirt” and find anyway to get their client out of paying you for your injury. 

With apps for the disabled, one can communicate using text to speech to maintain a connection with the world, but if you have lost the use of your hands and are suing for a personal injury claim, your use of social media could harm your case. There is no way to prove you used such a feature to communicate, so if you are in the midst of a personal injury suit, then it would be best to stay away from social media. 

The harm caused to your personal injury case -by technology, is also sometimes your own fault. Take for example GPS and Sat-Nav. Such technologies can monitor your speed. If for example, you get T-boned at an intersection (because you were speeding, playing on your phone, and did not see the traffic light change) and try to say the other driver was speeding, the opposing attorney could have the GPS records subpoenaed which, much to your regret, show your were speeding, and thus had some fault in the matter. If you are going to open the door to a personal injury claim, then you need to take careful steps to lower your profile and be careful what actions you take online. Also, you need to make sure to let your friends know about your situation. The last thing you need is to have them posting pictures of the pair of your out in about, when you are having a good day.

If you find that technology has adversely affected your personal injury case, and you do not have a personal injury attorney, or are looking for a Tampa personal injury attorney, there are many a reputable Tampa personal injury attorney to assist you with your case. Don’t let technology rob you of the money you need a deserve, fight back with a personal injury lawyer today.