Social Media a two edged sword

Almost everyone uses social media in some form.  It’s a familiar and mostly trusted form of communication, information gathering and support. 

Using social media can however, be unsettling, upsetting and even dangerous, so caution is always needed when using it.

So how can you gain the support you need if you are in a birth injury litigation situation?

Firstly, there are a few online support groups specifically dealing with birth injury cases.  Facebook has a few private groups which you can search for.  However always be wary of being asked to pay for a service you can get for free elsewhere.   

There are other support groups dealing with the injury itself, but very few about actual litigation.

Even ‘private’ Facebook groups and other platforms, are not a guarantee of privacy.  Therefore, I would strongly advise anyone asking questions on any SM platform to be very careful about posting information which may have an affect on your case.  Posting about private medical reports is a definite no, as these reports are not seen by the Defence until the end of the case and form part of your legal teams case, so confidentiality is essential. 

I once advised a poster to delete their question on a Facebook group as soon as possible because it involved a ‘cared for’ child, social services and a foster carer.  At the time the moderators criticised my comment because ‘our page has high privacy settings and is secure’.  Shortly afterwards, a different post was screenshot and shared outside the group.  So, nothing on the internet is ever 100% secure.    

Posting on your personal page is something you need to be aware of too.  If you post a lovely photo of you child holding a tennis racket (despite the fact the child couldn’t hit the ball to save their life) that can be used by the defence (if one of their arguments is your child isn’t as disabled as you say) and can damage your case.   Also mentioning the case on your personal page, is not something I would advise.

Sadly, legal teams do search social media if they think it may assist their client.

So, in short… social media, wonderful for support and information, terrible for privacy.