Friday, September 11, 2009

FACEBOOK and ICBC!

Most people would be surprised to learn that pictures posted on Facebook can be very damaging evidence in a lawsuit.

A recent client of mine, a young woman, had been involved in a very serious motor vehicle accident. ICBC had admitted liability for the accident so we didn't need to prove who was at fault. The only issue left on the table was the worth of her injuries. In addition to her physical injuries, during the months following the accident this young woman had changed from being a very outgoing, socially active person to being very socially withdrawn. She no longer gained pleasure from being with her circle of friends. Both of her parents described her as 'a changed person'. Expert reports by psychiatrists and other professionals confirmed a personality change. As is normally the case, these expert reports were based in part on self-reports and reports by others who knew my client well.

Prior to going to trial, ICBC agreed to try mediation to settle the case out of court. [BTW, mediation is being used by injured parties more and more these days to avoid the cost and risk of going to trial.] At the mediation ICBC disclosed pictures my client had posted on her Facebook site showing her at parties with friends, engaged in activities typical of individuals her age. These pictures showed her to be anything but withdrawn! The pictures told a strong and different story from the words in the written reports. They were very damaging to her case.

You might be thinking that my client could have avoided this problem by using her security settings on her Facebook site to limit access to trusted individuals. Unfortunately, ICBC has been successful lately in getting a court order requiring the injured party to give ICBC access to the injured party's entire Facebook site.

Moral of the story? If you are involved in a lawsuit because you were injured, and you are now seeking compensation for those injuries - physical or otherwise, be very careful what you post on your Facebook site. You may think you're safe by using security settings, but this is not the case.

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