NPR Discusses Social Media and Class Action Lawsuits

Once again, the National Public Radio is weighing in on a relevant topic to today's blog topic.  Social media and its use for legal claims has been an area of hot debate in recent years.  Can private social media posts be used as courtroom evidence?  How do you control jurors and judges who may tweet or Facebook post about a current case? Interestingly, some lawyers are also attempting to use social media to reach large masses of people for class-action lawsuits.  Read about this new phenomenon by clicking the link to the original NPR article, which can be found here.

As stated on yesterday's blog, social media can be potentially complicated for clients pursuing a personal injury claim.  Just like applying for a job or being an employee within a company, your social media activity is not as private or as protected as you may think.  Social media can become dangerous for a legal claim when certain pictures or comments are taken out of context and may be used against you.  For this reason, if you are hesitant about posting a picture or writing a comment that you feel may be used against your case, use discretion and do not post that item.  It may be even be better to not discuss your injury, and especially your legal claim, over Facebook at all.  The only way to keep your personal life as private as you want it to be is to not post anything you wouldn't want everyone to know about.

If you would like more information about this page or central Pennsylvania attorney Doug Stoehr's areas of practice, contact our Altoona, Pennsylvania, law firm by calling 814-946-4100.

Social Media in the Office

Ever wonder how different employers regulate the use of social media? The Huffington Post just released an interesting article that covered the trends that arose in social media use in the office.  Some of the more interesting points include the following:

• Almost 100% of companies now use social media in some way for their businesses
• There has been a 20% increase in the number of organizations that have formal social media policies in the past year
• Fewer than 20% of organizations have provisions that protect against social media misuse by ex-employees

To read more, please visit  the original article from the Huffington Post by clicking here. 

Social media use has many implications for clients pursuing a personal injury claim.  Similar to applying for a job or being an employee within a company, your social media activity is not as private or as protected as you may think.  For example, an innocent picture of you enjoying a short walk after your accident may be misconstrued as a full and complete recovery.  Additionally, posts/comments from friends suggesting that you're healthier than you really are may come across as you being insincere about your injury as well.  Social media may become dangerous for a case when certain pictures or comments are taken out of context and may be used against you.  For this reason, if you are hesitant about posting a picture or writing a comment that you feel may be used against your case, use discretion and do not post that item.  It may be even be better to not discuss your injury, and especially your legal claim, over Facebook at all.  The only way to keep your personal life as private as you want it to be is to not post anything you wouldn't want everyone to know about.

If you would like more information about this page or central Pennsylvania attorney Doug Stoehr's areas of practice, contact our Altoona, Pennsylvania, law firm by calling 814-946-4100.

Attorney Stoehr Involved in Police Shooting Case

Doug Stoehr is currently representing an Altoona resident who was shot by an Altoona Police Officer on April 8, 2013.   Doug and his client preferred to avoid publicity but needed to respond to a newspaper article and TV spot about the incident.  Most recently the case was highlighted again in the newspaper, when the Altoona Mirror obtained a copy of the formal Complaint that Attorney Stoehr filed in federal court in Johnstown. 
 
Below is the link to the Altoona Mirror article.  Although the article is not entirely accurate, it does summarize the allegations in the Complaint.  This claim will now be litigated through the federal system, and Attorney Stoehr will work zealously to obtain compensation for his client, who was shot in the shoulder area.  This has resulted in a permanent injury for the client, and a loss of  income. 
 
Attorney Stoehr represents those injured through no fault of their own in Blair and the surrounding  counties.  Call Attorney Stoehr at 814-946-4100 for a free evaluation of your personal injury claim. 

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/574370/Bellwood-man-shot-by-officer-to-sue-city.html?nav=742

Facebook and Discovery In Legal Claims

Information from Facebook and other social media sites is becoming increasingly popular to use in the "discovery" aspect of personal injury litigation.  In recent years, several cases involving personal injury claims and social media have set the precedent for the admittance of social media into the courtroom for years to come.  One of these cases involved an employee of Weis Supermarkets suing the company because he claimed to have suffered an injury to his knee while working.  Although he did require surgery to correct his knee, he claimed that he could not participate in physical activity and never wore shorts because he was embarrassed by his surgical scar.  Discovery material provided from Facebook resulted in pictures of the employee engaging in intense physical activity, as well as wearing shorts that plainly showed his surgical scar.  Because the bulk of his case rested upon his inability to take part in the physical activities he had previously enjoyed, his case did not have much merit once the Facebook pictures were admitted as evidence.

This is just one of may cases in which social media had a negative impact on a client's personal injury claim.  If you are pursuing a personal injury claim, you should be careful about what you choose to post on social media sites.  Even if you are significantly injured, defense attorneys might try to twist what you write or update to compile a case against you. One picture, taken out of context, may cost you a significant amount of money in a personal injury case. 

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving western and central Pennsylvania. For more information on his firm, please click here.

Facebook May Influence Your Claim

A recent trend in legal matters is the acceptance of social media findings into the courtroom.  For many people, this means that their pictures, status updates, messages to friends, and other personal information may be used in court to either strengthen or weaken their case.  Employers are also getting involved in looking into their employee's social media circles, and some are requesting social media passwords of both employees and interviewees applying for jobs.  Employers may also request "shoulder surfing", where an employee/interviewee logs into their social media site and surfs through their profile and pages while their employer/interviewer is watching.  


This has many implications for clients pursuing a personal injury claim.  Similar to applying for a job or being an employee within a company, your social media activity is not as private or as protected as you may think.  For example, an innocent picture of you enjoying a short walk after your accident may be misconstrued as a full and complete recovery.  Additionally, posts/comments from friends suggesting that you're healthier than you really are may come across as you being insincere about your injury as well.  Social media may become dangerous for a case when certain pictures or comments are taken out of context and may be used against you.  For this reason, if you are hesitant about posting a picture or writing a comment that you feel may be used against your case, use discretion and do not post that item.  It may be even be better to not discuss your injury, and especially your legal claim, over Facebook at all.  The only way to keep your personal life as private as you want it to be is to not post anything you wouldn't want everyone to know about.


If you would like more information about this page or central Pennsylvania attorney Doug Stoehr's areas of practice, contact our Altoona, Pennsylvania, law firm by calling 814-946-4100.

Major PA Healthcare Provider and Insurance Company at Odds

UPMC Healthcare Systems and Highmark health insurance services have been debating in the past few months whether to continue to serve each other as their 10-year contract comes to a close this year.  If Highmark refuses to provide insurance to patients at UPMC medical facilities and UPMC does not accept Highmark insurance, many patients could potentially be left without doctors or access to medical services.  This poses a particularly complicated situation for those patients undergoing long-term treatment for such diseases as cancer and diabetes.  Patients and physicians are both worried about the possibility of mass movement of medical records, which may result in lost or incomplete records at the patient’s new treatment center.  Those who receive Medicare plans through Highmark will not be affected by any possible changes.  

During your personal injury claim, you will be incurring long-term medical expenses, most likely over a period of months or years.  If there is a significant shift in your healthcare plan or your insurance company refuses to pay your medical bills during treatment for your injury caused by an accident, you should keep your attorney up to date, as it might affect how your claim is handled.  Although Attorney Doug Stoehr cannot consult with you about a possible gap in your insurance coverage as the result of an issue like the UPMC/Highmark contract negotiation, he encourages you to check your insurance policy frequently to be aware of any possible changes in your policy.

Attorney Stoehr is a lawyer based out of Altoona, PA that specializes in personal injury claims.  If you would like to consult with him about a possible personal injury claim, please contact our law office for more information.