How insurers use what you post
Two kinds of claims are on the line after a Michigan crash, and social media can hurt both.
- Your no-fault claim. Your own insurer pays wage loss, household help and attendant care based on what your doctors say you cannot do. A post showing you shoveling snow, lifting a child or working a side job is used to cut those benefits off.
- Your claim against the at-fault driver. To recover for pain and suffering you must show a serious impairment of body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life. Photos of trips, sports or nights out are offered to show your life did not change.
Context rarely survives. A photo taken before the crash and posted after, or a ten-minute appearance at a family event followed by two days in bed, looks the same in a defense exhibit as a full recovery.
Do not delete anything
Deleting posts feels like the safe move. It is the risky one. Michigan law requires a party to preserve evidence it knows, or reasonably should know, is relevant once litigation is a possibility, even before a lawsuit is filed. When a party fails to produce evidence it controlled without a reasonable excuse, a jury may be instructed under M Civ JI 6.01 that it can infer the evidence would have been unfavorable. Intentional destruction can lead to harsher sanctions.
Deleted content is also often recoverable, and a friend’s screenshot does not disappear when you delete the original. The deletion itself then becomes the story.
Freeze, do not delete. Before you change privacy settings or remove anything, download a full copy of your account data and talk to your lawyer.
What courts allow insurers to see
Setting an account to private does not make it privileged. Courts can order production of relevant private content. Courts also limit fishing expeditions. In Tompkins v. Detroit Metropolitan Airport (E.D. Mich. 2012), a federal court in Detroit refused a defendant’s demand for a plaintiff’s entire private Facebook account because the photos it relied on, such as holding a small dog and pushing a grocery cart, were not inconsistent with her injury claims. The court said photos of golfing or horseback riding might have justified more. The practical lesson: what you post publicly can open the door to everything else.
Surveillance works the same way
On claims involving ongoing wage loss, attendant care or surgery, insurers often hire investigators to film claimants in public: carrying groceries, mowing, driving, at the gym. The footage is compared with what you told the adjuster, the insurer’s examining doctor, and your own doctors. Investigators frequently time it around an insurer medical exam or an examination under oath.
You cannot stop lawful surveillance. You can make it useless by being accurate. Describe good days and bad days honestly, and follow your restrictions in public as well as at home.
A checklist for the life of your claim
- Stop posting about the crash, your injuries, your activities and your case.
- Download a copy of each account’s data, then set accounts to private.
- Do not accept new friend or follow requests from people you do not know.
- Ask family and friends not to tag you or post photos of you.
- Turn off location sharing and check-ins.
- Do not message anyone about the case, including the other driver.
- Keep fitness trackers and apps consistent with your restrictions, since their data can also be requested.
- Tell your lawyer about anything already posted that an insurer might misread.
Be consistent everywhere
The insurer will compare four sources: what you say to the adjuster, what you tell doctors, what a camera sees, and what you post. When they agree, social media stops being a threat. Read what not to say to an adjuster for the statements that most often create inconsistencies. If your benefits were cut after an insurer cited a post or video, talk to us about the denial.
Sources: Michigan Judicial Institute, Evidence Benchbook, “Missing Physical Evidence” (citing Pugno v. Blue Harvest Farms, LLC (2018), Brenner v. Kolk (1997), Ward v. Consolidated Rail Corp. (2005)); M Civ JI 6.01; Tompkins v. Detroit Metropolitan Airport, 278 F.R.D. 387 (E.D. Mich. 2012); MCL 500.3135(5).
Questions people ask us
Should I delete my social media after a car accident?
Do not delete posts, photos or accounts once a claim is likely. Michigan law requires parties to preserve evidence they know is relevant even before a lawsuit is filed, and a jury can be told it may infer that lost evidence was unfavorable. Set accounts to private and stop posting instead, and ask your lawyer before changing anything.
Can the insurance company see my private Facebook posts?
Not automatically. Private content is not privileged, but courts have required the other side to show a reason to believe it is relevant before ordering it produced. Public posts, and posts a friend shares or screenshots, are fair game.
Can I post that I am okay so my family stops worrying?
Tell family by phone or private message instead. A public “I’m fine” post is easy to quote back as proof you were not hurt.
Do insurers really watch claimants?
On larger claims, insurers commonly hire investigators to video claimants in public and review social media. The results are compared with what you told the adjuster and your doctors.