- Workers' Compensation
If you’re worried that you posted something on social media that could jeopardize your workers’ compensation claim, you should call our office. Our Coral Springs workers’ comp attorneys have handled many cases where this has happened. People don’t realize that employers will go online and see if you’ve posted anything about your workplace accident.
Not only that, but the insurance adjuster handling your claim will do a thorough investigation of you. We warn our clients about this during the first meeting with our clients. We express the importance of staying off of social media until their workers’ compensation case is resolved.
If Your Claim Is Large, Your Employer Will Do a Full-Scale Investigation
If you suffer a minor injury at work, there’s a good chance your workers’ compensation claim will be approved. The insurance company isn’t going to waste a ton of money fighting a claim for a few thousand dollars. With a minor injury, you should be back at work within a few weeks. At the most, you may miss a month or two from work.
It could cost your employer and their insurance carrier tens of thousands of dollars to challenge your claim. Even then, there is still the chance that they’ll have to pay your claim. They would much rather just approve it and focus on the larger claims.
What this means is that people who suffer a very serious injury are more at risk of having their claim denied. Of course, if there is ample evidence that you did in fact injure yourself while you were doing your job, that’s one thing. However, there are very few cases like that.
Usually, there is something the insurance adjuster can question. Rather than just pay out a claim that could cost the insurance company hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills and replacement wages, they simply deny your claim. This gives them time to investigate it. And the first place they’ll look is your social media pages.
Our Coral Springs Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Warn Our Clients About the Dangers of Social Media
When our Coral Springs workers’ compensation lawyers first meet with a new client, there are a few things we like to tell them. First, we explain that they should not discuss their case with anybody other than their Florida workers comp attorney. Second, we make sure they understand the criteria for receiving workers’ compensation benefits.
This way, if their claim is denied, they understand why. Finally, we warn them to never post about their workers’ compensation claims on social media. We stress this over and over again.
In the past, our Coral Springs workers’ compensation lawyers have seen clients lose their benefits because they posted the wrong thing online. It is one of the worst reasons to have your claim denied or your benefits terminated.
Your Employer and the Insurance Adjuster Can See Everything
When our Florida workers comp attorneys meet with their clients for the second or third time. They reiterate the dangers of social media. By this point, they already know if their client has heeded their advice or not.
Just like your employer and the insurance company, we look to see if you’ve posted anything about your case online. When we raise our concerns once again, many of our clients reassure us that things will be fine because they realized their mistake and deleted their posts.
What people don’t seem to realize (or believe), is that content doesn’t just disappear from sites like Facebook. It may no longer appear on your page. However, what if one of your friends shared your post on their page?
Or, worse yet, what if the insurance adjuster took a screenshot of it or downloaded it to their computer? You need to understand that, just because you delete something on social media, it never completely disappears. What makes matters worse is that you have no way of knowing what your employer has until it’s too late.
The Last Thing You to Do Is Have a Single Social Media Post Jeopardize Your Claim
Generally speaking, as long as you don’t post anything about your workers’ compensation claim, you should be fine, right? The answer is no. Imagine that you hurt your back while carrying a large container at work. You are told that you may need surgery but that the doctor wants to wait a couple of weeks to see if it gets better.
You want to stay out of work for as long as you can. You figure that since your benefits aren’t taxed, you’re still bringing home about the same amount of money as you did while you worked full-time.
A couple of days after your workplace accident, a friend posts a video of them hanging out with a group of buddies. In your friend’s post, there are video clips of you and your friends trying to do tricks on your old skateboard. You fall a few times and then give up. Your employer sees this – not on your page, but on your friend’s page. They download a copy of the video and all the relevant content.
To the insurance company, your friend’s video proves that your back isn’t all that hurt. If you’re able to play on a skateboard and fall – and get right back up – then you aren’t as hurt as you claim to be. In a situation like this, not only do you risk losing your benefits, but the insurance company can also demand that you refund any money you have already received.
The Best Thing to Do Is to Call One of Our Florida Workers’ Comp Attorneys
When it comes to social media and workers comp, Florida workers comp attorneys know how dangerous it can be. Sadly, many of our clients ignore our advice. They don’t believe that their employer is really going to look through their social media accounts.
The truth is that this is usually the first place the insurance adjusters start. They know that people are addicted to social media and that they cannot help but share intimate facts about their life online. They are hoping to find something that proves that your workplace accident was not legitimate.
Or they may look to see if you had a pre-existing medical condition. If you did, they would claim that you were already injured long before your workplace accident. Despite our warnings, some people insist on sharing the details of their workplace accidents with the world.
Regardless of what they found, if your workers’ comp claim is being investigated, you should reach out to our office. One of our Coral Springs workers comp lawyers can talk you through the situation and answer any questions you may have. Since your initial consultation is free, you have nothing to lose.
