You may think that your information is confidential if you have marked your Facebook site as “Private”. You may feel safe that no one else, other than your very closest friends or family members, would have access to this. Today, however it is routine for defense attorneys to request during the litigation process that an injured party turn over information posted on Facebook, Twitter or other social networking sites.
We routinely tell our clients that they need to be aware of this issue. While we always fight for our clients and argue that the defense is not entitled to private information, some Courts have allowed access to it if the defendants can convince the Judge that the information posted is relevant to the damages claimed in the case. Some courts have even required the injured party to give their access and login information to the defense so that they can review all of the postings.
I was on trial recently in a complex medical malpractice case. During the litigation I warned my client that the defense would attempt to get access to her Facebook account and that the defense would try to take some of the postings out of context and argue that she wasn’t as seriously injured as she truly was. Fortunately, my client listened to my advice and it was not an issue at trial.
By Michael W. McGuckin, Esquire, Attorney for the Reading, Pennsylvania Personal Injury Law Firm of Liever, Hyman & Potter, P. C. which limits their practice to medical malpractice, car, truck and motorcycle accidents, wrongful death cases, premises liability, nursing home neglect, and work injuries. Serving Berks, Schuylkill and surrounding counties for over 50 years.