The Pitfalls of Facebook

Back from my defence days I had been defending a claim brought by a passenger in a vehicle that had been rear ended. There was  significant impact with the plaintiff’s vehicle which had sustained significant damage. At first blush, this was an accident that ICBC was taking seriously simply based on the severity of the material damages to the vehicle.

The file progressed as usual, with ICBC making the usual requests for records (medical, therapists, tax returns etc.).  A big aspect of the claim was the fact that the plaintiff had been a self-employed refrigeration expert, and as a result of the accident, was apparently unable to work for an extended period of time.  Again, at first blush, there was large exposure to the insurance company in the circumstances.

We proceeded to examination for discovery and, again, everything remained consistent with it being a  significant accident with significant injuries and potentially significant damages.

At about the same time, Facebook was becoming more and more prevalent.  It was decided that some investigation should be done to see if the plaintiff had a Facebook page and whether he had posted anything of interest on it. As luck (from ICBC’s perspective) would have it, the plaintiff had an open access Facebook page which allowed investigators (or anyone for that matter) to freely enter into the plaintiff’s page.

As it turns out, and contrary to the tale of woe that had been sold to ICBC up until that point, this particular plaintiff had actually been engaged in work and was enjoying life. Not only that, but according to postings on the Facebook page, the plaintiff had also been engaged in a number of recreational activities including dirt biking, white-water kayaking, etc. which were not exactly sedentary in nature.

The Facebook pages were printed off and disclosed to the plaintiff’s lawyer prior to trial.  As expected, the matter settled prior to the scheduled jury trial.