This article discusses and gives examples of how social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare are used to gain evidence in a variety of lawsuits. Most people today realize that employers and educators may use social networking sites to check out potential employees, current employees or student activity.
However, what people don't realize is that attorneys, insurance companies, employers, or ex-spouses may be using these sites to collect evidence in lawsuits. For injured plaintiffs (whether they are injured on the job, in a car accident with another person, or by a defective product), pictures or posts on these sites could be used against them to show they are not as badly injured as they claim.
For example, an employee injures his back on the job, but two weeks later posts a picture of himself on Facebook lifting his child in the air or water skiing. These photos may be used by the employer and their insurer to prove the worker is not as badly injured as he claims. In this new technologically savvy world, it is best to play it safe when involved in a lawsuit and not share certain information on social networking sites throughout the litigation process.