Social media is a fun way to connect with family and friends, share funny pictures and memes and relax after a long day at work. While you may enjoy sharing about your life on social media, avoiding social media may be best if you are injured at work and have filed a workers’ compensation claim.
It’s worth noting that filing a workers’ compensation claim doesn’t mean you are prohibited from posting on social media. However, what you post may negatively impact your claim if you aren’t careful.
Social media and workers’ comp claims don’t mix
Consider these scenarios to understand better how posting on social media can affect your workers’ compensation claim:
- You claim a work-caused back injury keeps you from lifting and post pictures of you skiing or hiking.
- Claiming your injured hand prevents you from your office tasks, and then post pictures of you digging holes, throwing a baseball or another activity that requires dexterity.
- Running a 5K race after claiming you injured your leg or foot on the job.
While you may believe that this is something that would not happen to you, it happens a lot.
After you post this information, even if your account is set to private, the insurance company that is responsible for your workers’ compensation claim has ways to access it. If it is found that you lied about your injury or how severe it is based on what you post on social media, you may face serious consequences.
Protecting your rights to workers’ compensation benefits
If you are injured on the job, be sure to think carefully about what you post on social media. Even something that may seem innocent, like attending a family function, may be misconstrued and used as evidence that you aren’t really injured. If your claim is unfairly denied, you also have the legal right to appeal this decision.