I’m Attorney Chuck Pappas and I’m here to offer another important tip about workers’ compensation cases in Massachusetts.
If you were hurt at work and you are either receiving workers' compensation or have filed a claim seeking benefits from workers’ compensation, you better believe the insurance companies, their adjusters, and attorneys will be searching the internet and your social media accounts to investigate you.
The insurance companies spend a lot of money on investigations usually to try and uncover fraudulent claims. But many times, they use investigations as a routine tactic to avoid paying even legitimate claims or paying more than they should. They not only hire private investigators to watch and follow an injured employee, but they will also spend money to investigate your online activities including your social media posts in hopes of obtaining evidence to contradict your claims or undermine your case. They do this to try and discover evidence they can use against you to either deny your workers’ comp claim or, if they have begun making payments, to terminate or reduce those payments.
Now this video is by no means a tip for how to fraudulently obtain workers comp benefits. This information is for workers who suffered serious and genuine injuries to help protect them during a workers’ comp case.
The insurance companies are almost always suspicious and speculative of injured workers’ claims. A lot of times they will not believe that you’re really hurt and cannot return to work. And they will try to use anything they can against you. Even seemingly innocent social media posts of routine activities, such as going to a birthday party or a sporting event, can and will be used against an injured worker by insurance companies. They will try to manipulate or misconstrue your social media posts to attack your case and credibility.
So, the best practice is not to post on social media if you are going through a workers’ comp case. If you do post on social media, as a general rule, you should be mindful of what you are posting and make sure your social media settings are set to private.
I hope this information was helpful. If you have any questions, I’m just a phone call away. Or you can always contact me through my website. I’m always available to answer questions and help if you need it.
Thanks for watching.
A work accident isn't something most think about often until it happens to them. This is why injured workers typically have many questions and concerns after being seriously injured on the job. If you were hurt at work, you should have a good understanding of the workers’ compensation process and benefits available in Massachusetts. The experienced workers’ compensation lawyers at Mahaney & Pappas, LLP, are here to help you during this difficult time.