Not Posting On Social Media After A Workplace Injury

After you have suffered a workplace injury and are seeking workers’ compensation benefits, it is critical to understand that posting on social media could harm your claim. To be sure, any type of social media post ultimately could be used to deny your claim, and you could lose your eligibility to receive medical coverage and wage replacement benefits because of a post that you believed to be harmless or innocuous. It is critical that you take this step after a workplace injury: do not post on social media when you are seeking workers’ compensation benefits. Our West Palm Beach workers’ compensation lawyers can provide you with more information.

Requirement of an Inability to Work in the Same Capacity Due to Injury

 Under Florida workers’ compensation law, you will need medical evidence to show that you have suffered a disabling injury or have been diagnosed with a disabling occupational disease in order to be eligible for benefits. Injured workers can be eligible to receive medical coverage related to their injury and wage replacement benefits for the time period that their injury prevents them from working.

If an employee is able to return to work in a limited capacity but continues to require medical care and cannot return to full employment, that injured worker can continue to receive workers’ compensation benefits (wage replacement benefits will be reduced accordingly based on the injured worker’s limited ability to return to work). If your injury results in a permanent disability, you may be able to obtain permanent impairment benefits in addition to wage replacement payments and medical coverage.

How Social Media Posts Can Affect Your Workers’ Compensation Claim 

What does any of this have to do with social media? Since your ability to receive workers’ compensation benefits is premised on your disabling injury or condition, anything you post on social media could suggest that your injury is not as serious as you claimed it to be, or that your injury does not have the disabling effects that you have claimed.

What types of social media posts could suggest that you are ineligible for benefits? For example, if you have claimed to have suffered a serious back or neck injury on the job and you post images of yourself lifting heavy objects or materials on Facebook or Instagram, those images could suggest that your injury is not as severe as you claimed. Or, for example, if you suffered a repetitive motion injury that prevents you from typing or writing in any capacity, even posting on Twitter or Facebook could suggest that you are actually able to type and could be able to return to your job. Likewise, if any of your friends post images of you and tag you that could cause an insurer to question the severity of your injury, you could put your benefits at risk.

It is often best to temporarily disable your social media accounts altogether. If you need to continue browsing social media, you should avoid posting and should ask any friends to avoid tagging you in posts.

Contact a West Palm Beach Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

 When you have questions about workers’ compensation law in Florida or need assistance with your case, you should contact a workers’ compensation attorney in West Palm Beach at the Law Offices of David M. Benenfeld, P.A. for help.

Sources:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-0499/0440/Sections/0440.02.html