If you suffer a severe injury on the job, you may know you can pursue and obtain workers’ compensation benefits.
However, the process of recovering the benefits you deserve is often complex. There are several mistakes to avoid that could put your claim at risk, such as missing deadlines or not reporting your injury in the first place.
Another risk that injured workers might overlook is their social media account.
Insurance companies will look at your social media
Nowadays, Californians of all ages have at least one social media account in their name. You might use your account to keep in touch with faraway friends and family, or even keep up to date with the news.
You might already know that employers often look at the social media of prospective and current employees. They often look for inappropriate posts or behavior that could reflect badly on the company.
However, more and more insurance companies review a claimant’s social media accounts too. They do this to look for:
- Signs of workers’ compensation fraud; or
- Evidence to deny claims.
For example, Forbes reported in 2019 that life insurance companies are using social media to calculate premiums. And it seems that insurers are doing the same for both personal injury and workers’ compensation claims.
What should you do?
These insurers are often looking for posts that contradict your claim of an injury. For example, if someone posted about traveling after claiming they suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the job, the insurer could use the post as evidence to deny the claim.
So, what can you do to protect your claim? You should:
- Set your social media accounts to private, just in case;
- Avoid posting anything about your injury, including how you are recovering; and
- Avoid posting photos of yourself while recovering.
Taking great care in your approach to social media after a work injury can help protect yourself and your family.