Social Media and Credibility in ICBC claims

Many people post regularly on Facebook, Twitter and other online services. When our clients are involved in car accidents or other personal injury cases, we caution them to be careful of what information they put online. Even supposedly “private” communications can be discovered by insurance companies such as ICBC. In some cases, a court will even order the plaintiff to produce all of their social media postings for the defence to review. If this contradicts what the plaintiff has told ICBC previously, their credibility may be called into question on all aspects of their claim, resulting in then getting far less than they deserve. Even seemingly innocent pictures will be used by the other side to justify giving the plaintiff less money.

In Tweddle v Losch, the plaintiff kept a blog in which she detailed a very difficult motorcycle trip (over 39,000km) she took only six months after her motor vehicle accident. Since the defence found the blog and the plaintiff had not mentioned the trip, the court could not trust her descriptions of her pain. The court found that most of her injuries must have been healed in order for her to take this trip, and she received only $12,000 for pain and suffering.

Our firm has the expertise needed to handle all communications with ICBC and ensure you will not say anything that may jeopardize your claim. Even if you have already posted to social media, we can work with you to ensure you get full compensation for your injuries.

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