Tim Louis: Beware of ICBC trolling through your Facebook photos

by The Georgia Straight Staff on September 12th, 2009 at 9:56 AM

By Tim Louis

Most people would be surprised to learn that pictures posted on Facebook can be very damaging evidence in a lawsuit.

A recent client of mine, a young woman, had been involved in a very serious motor vehicle accident. ICBC had admitted liability for the accident so we didn't need to prove who was at fault.

The only issue left on the table was the worth of her injuries. In addition to her physical injuries, during the months following the accident this young woman had changed from being a very outgoing, socially active person to being very socially withdrawn. She no longer gained pleasure from being with her circle of friends.

Both of her parents described her as "a changed person". Expert reports by psychiatrists and other professionals confirmed a personality change. As is normally the case, these expert reports were based in part on self-reports and reports by others who knew my client well.

Prior to going to trial, ICBC agreed to try mediation to settle the case out of court. Mediation is being used by injured parties more and more these days to avoid the cost and risk of going to trial.

At the mediation, ICBC disclosed pictures that my client had posted on her Facebook site. The images showed her at parties with friends, engaged in activities typical of individuals her age. These pictures showed her to be anything but withdrawn!

The pictures told a strong and different story from the words in the written reports. They were very damaging to her case.

You might be thinking that my client could have avoided this problem by using her security settings on her Facebook site to limit access to trusted individuals. Unfortunately, ICBC has been successful lately in getting a court order requiring the injured party to give the insurance company access to the injured party's entire Facebook site.

Moral of the story? If you are involved in a lawsuit because you were injured, and you are now seeking compensation for those injuries—physical or otherwise—be very careful what you post on your Facebook site. You may think you're safe by using security settings, but this is not the case.

Tim Louis is a Vancouver lawyer and former city councillor and park board commissioner.

Comments

27 Comments

asp

Sep 12, 2009 at 10:31am

Moral of the story. Don't lie. Don't cheat.

But if you are going to try and pull an insurance scam, don't get caught on camera!

asp

Sep 12, 2009 at 12:11pm

Came across a related link, on the economics of insurance: http://baselinescenario.com/2009/09/11/can-openers-for-beginners/

Gordo

Sep 12, 2009 at 12:52pm

Moral of the story. Don't lie. Don't cheat.

But if you are going to pull a scam, delete the emails!

Harpo

Sep 12, 2009 at 5:48pm

Gordo, send me an email A.S.A.P. and tell me the lowdown how you get away with deleting emails? Better yet, put it on your Facebook page.

metoo3

Sep 12, 2009 at 7:37pm

The point the lawyer should be asking (or at least mentioned in this article) is WHEN were the pictures on Facebook taken? If they're recent, then she loses.

Olivia

Sep 12, 2009 at 10:54pm

The author seems to say the claimant should have done a better job in covering up the inconsistencies in her story. Perhaps he was embarrassed he hadn't checked her FB page before agreeing to defend her.

Smartiepants

Sep 12, 2009 at 11:12pm

the valuable lesson here is that corporations and governments know everything about you at all given times and that they have unlimited access to private information with or without court order (or supported by the courts who are there to serve the government) and that there is nothing you can do about it. you really thought that when you delete info or a profile or an email that it actually disappears? of course not. it's always stored somwhere and you would never know. that is why you're all doomed.

dnm

Sep 12, 2009 at 11:17pm

And they damn well should be bad for her case -- if her case was a fraud, and she was outgoing and back to normal with her friends, but trying to get money from the ICBC based on the fact that she wasn't, she should be in jail for insurance fraud.

Gomer

Sep 13, 2009 at 9:13am

Mr. Louis .. you've missed the point. You seem more upset that your client got caught lying than you do because she lied. Perhaps the moral of the story should be for your client to tell the truth in the first place -- those are MY premium dollars she's lying to get. Both of you should examine your ethical and moral codes.