Social Media Can Affect A Social Security Disability Application

By Kenton Koszdin on June 29, 2018 | In Disability Insurance

Social Media Can Affect A Social Security Disability Application

The Kenton Koszdin Law Office thrives on helping its clients recover financially, physically, and emotionally from their disability. Whether you are injured on the job or have suffered some disability and are no longer able to work as you once did, you have rights and my office will help you assert, enforce, and protect them.

It’s difficult to not be aware of the increased role of social media in our lives. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, are just some of the sites that consume the time of many regularly. People freely share information and photographs about their daily lives, no matter how trivial, without a thought about the potential consequences of such open disclosure.

As a result of this, social media has had an effect on many, if not most, areas of the law – disability, personal injury, and divorce, especially child custody matters. Social media has removed the private aspect of many people’s lives. As more social media users upload and make public every experience, act, thought, and opinion, on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, attorneys have discovered that this uploaded information and data can provide important, if not crucial, evidence that bears relevance to pending legal matters.

For example, here’s a typical situation when social media can substantially compromise, if not entirely preclude, a claim for injuries caused by an accident: A claimant for personal injury damages or workers’ compensation benefits whose case may be based on severe back or leg pain uploads a picture of himself skiing on Christmas vacation after the date of an accident.

An experienced disability attorney not only provides many advantages for successfully obtaining benefits but can also help reduce or eliminate entirely errors, such as sensitive disclosures on social media, prior to the filing of a claim for benefits. This ensures that applicants have the best chance possible of success when filing an application for disability benefits.

Unless some actual fraud is present, it is relatively rare for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to examine the applicant’s social media presence. However, it is not all that rare or unusual for private disability insurance companies and their private investigators to review an applicant’s use of social media.

The lesson of all this is not for people, especially those involved in some legal matter, to totally refrain from enjoying social media. Rather, it is beneficial in the long-term to use caution and common sense to consider (before posting and sharing) the potential ramifications of such uploaded information and its future usage.

The Social Security Administration does, in fact, officially prohibit administrative law judges and examiners from using the internet and social media sites to discover information about applicants for disability benefits. However, keep in mind, that this doesn’t mean it absolutely will not occur!

Although anything posted on social media may not be cited as the primary reason for an examiner’s or ALJ’s decision denying benefits, it still is unwise to risk the effects of an incriminating post. It is an excellent course of action for all potential disability applicants to search the internet for their name and identity to determine what is available to the masses. It may be more than wise to remove or make available certain content to only private or certain pre-selected readers.

Are you ready to fight for your benefits with a lawyer that is dedicated to helping you get results? If so, it is time to contact the Kenton Koszdin Law Office today. We offer free consultations, so you have absolutely nothing to lose! We look forward to hearing from you. Call 800-438-7734 or visit us online. Se habla espańol!

 

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