You may not realize that posting on social media could impact your workers’ compensation claim for benefits. Think twice about telling all your followers about your workplace injury – here is why.
Nothing on the Internet Is Truly Private
These days, many people use social media posts to share information and keep in touch. Unfortunately, you often just don’t know who will see your posts or how private they truly are. Also, if the workers’ compensation insurance company finds out that you are an avid social media poster, it may request hard copies of all your posts from around the time of the injury.
While telling your friends and family about your injury may seem like a good idea to keep people up to date, that post might unwittingly include information that hurts your case. For example, a post could imply that an injury happened on the way to work or at home. Or it might hint that the injury is not as bad as the employer and insurer thought.
Insurance Companies Use Any Excuse to Deny Benefits
You never know which information may come back to haunt you. Even innocuous posts about playing a sport or going to the grocery store could lead to a denial or discontinuance of benefits. Often people find out that they are losing benefits because they worked or did things in their personal lives that were against medical restrictions.
Insurance companies look for weaknesses in employees’ cases for workers’ compensation benefits by surveilling the employees. This can include in-person surveillance and videotaping, background checks, and searching the Internet for social media information. It is not unusual for insurance companies to hire claims investigators specifically to discredit injured employees.
While you still need to live your life, you should remind yourself to take care in posting on social media. Avoid oversharing information such as:
- The circumstances of your work injury;
- Details of medical treatment and recovery;
- The physical activities you do in your free time; or
- How much money you receive in benefits or for a settlement.
If you are unsure if you should post something about your workers’ compensation case or injury, err on the side of safety and don’t post it.
Need help getting workers’ compensation for your injury? Joe Osterbauer, Esq. and the Osterbauer Law Firm stand up for injured Minnesota workers’ rights. Joe’s 27 years of workers’ compensation experience and his team’s speedy service combine to get clients the results they need. To schedule a free consultation, visit Osterbauer Law Firm online or call Joe’s office at (612) 334-3434.
