The Use of Social Media in Personal Injury Cases Increasingly Shapes Damage Assessments

November 27, 2025, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Overview of social media in Ontario personal injury

Social media is no longer a peripheral detail in Ontario personal injury litigation; it is now a core source of evidence about how people live, work, and recover after an accident. This overview applies to Ontario plaintiff and defence lawyers who need to understand how online content can influence findings on causation, credibility, and damages.

For both plaintiffs and defendants, the digital breadcrumb trail left on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn now plays a regular role in assessing activity levels, social engagement, and work capacity. As Ontario courts and counsel become more fluent in electronic discovery and open-source intelligence (OSINT), social media has moved from a curiosity to a strategic asset in personal injury claims.

Frequently asked questions for Ontario practitioners

• What is OSINT in an Ontario personal injury case?
  OSINT means collecting and analyzing publicly available online information, including social media and web content, to better understand a person’s activities, routines, and lifestyle.
• Why is social media now so important in personal injury litigation?
  Social media is important because it can provide contemporaneous snapshots of a claimant’s life that either confirm or contradict medical and testimonial evidence about pain, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life.

How plaintiffs use social media

This section explains how social media content can help or hurt Ontario personal injury plaintiffs by showing daily activities, pain levels, and lifestyle before and after an accident. It applies to Ontario plaintiff counsel, defence counsel assessing exposure, and support staff assembling evidence.

Plaintiffs who allege serious pain and functional limits need to assume that opposing counsel will review public social media posts for apparent inconsistencies. A photo or video showing a plaintiff travelling, attending parties, or engaging in physical activities can be used to suggest higher function than claimed, even if the event was brief or followed by a pain flare.

Social media posts and check-ins can also build or attack the timeline of injury and recovery in Ontario cases. Dated posts may show when symptoms first appeared, when treatment began, and whether there were gaps or bursts of activity that raise questions about causation or the severity of impairment.

Public content can provide clues about pre-existing conditions, baseline activity level, and lifestyle that affect the scope of damages. Older posts may reveal chronic issues, high-risk hobbies, or demanding work that must be separated from accident-related loss when assessing income loss and future care.

Posts about surgeries, rehabilitation milestones, and therapeutic progress can support a plaintiff’s narrative when they align with medical records. However, optimistic statements, rapid return to demanding activities, or inconsistent treatment attendance can be used to argue against long-term impairment.

Because social media content can be edited, deleted, or restricted, plaintiffs and their counsel must address preservation very early. A litigation hold for social media means the plaintiff is instructed not to delete or alter relevant posts, photos, or messages, and to understand that ephemeral content like stories may need prompt capture.

Frequently asked questions for Ontario practitioners

• What should an Ontario plaintiff lawyer say about deleting posts?
  An Ontario plaintiff lawyer should tell the client not to delete or edit potentially relevant content once litigation is reasonably anticipated or started, because removal may raise spoliation concerns and credibility issues.
• Can plaintiffs rely on social media as supportive evidence?
  Yes, plaintiffs can identify posts that honestly show limitations, missed events, and lifestyle changes, but they should coordinate with counsel to export and present that material in a structured way.

How defence teams use social media

This section explains how Ontario defence counsel and insurers use social media and OSINT to test a plaintiff’s claims about pain, function, employment, and lifestyle. It applies to defence lawyers, claims professionals, and plaintiff lawyers who want to anticipate defence strategies.

Defence teams routinely review public social media content for activities that appear inconsistent with alleged disability or reduced enjoyment of life. Photos and videos showing travel, sports, social events, or strenuous tasks after the accident will be used to argue that limitations are less severe or less continuous than claimed.

Defence counsel often compare pre-incident and post-incident posts to assess changes in activity and mood. A plaintiff who appears equally active online before and after the accident may face credibility challenges, while visible drop-offs in presence and engagement can sometimes support serious loss-of-enjoyment claims.

Social media can reveal ongoing employment, side work, or gig income that complicates claims for loss of income or future earning capacity. LinkedIn updates, business promotions, or content showing frequent work-related activity can support arguments that the plaintiff has continued earning more than disclosed.

OSINT techniques allow defence teams to map out locations, routines, and connections suggested by online content. By analyzing geotags, recurring venues, and associations, defence can better target traditional surveillance and identify time periods or witnesses of interest.

Frequently asked questions for Ontario practitioners

• Can Ontario defence counsel look at public profiles without consent?
  Yes, defence counsel can review publicly available social media in the same way they would review any public record, provided they do not use deception or false identities to access private content.
• How should defence teams use social media at discovery?
  Defence teams should use social media to frame precise, date-specific questions about travel, activities, and work and to request narrow production of posts that relate directly to pleaded issues.

Practical and strategic considerations

This section explains practical steps Ontario personal injury lawyers on both sides can take to manage social media from intake through trial. It applies to plaintiff counsel, defence counsel, and support teams handling discovery and evidence.

Early preservation and disclosure planning are critical because social media is dynamic and easily lost. Plaintiff counsel should issue litigation hold instructions about online content at intake, and defence teams should document when they first review public posts and consider early preservation requests.

Under Ontario’s disclosure rules, relevant social media is treated as electronically stored information and can be subject to production like any other document. Lawyers should integrate social media into Affidavits of Documents with specific descriptions, rather than generically referencing “Facebook” or “Instagram” without detail.

Authentication and context matter for persuasiveness. Counsel should capture screenshots or exports that show dates, usernames, and visible interactions, and consider preserving metadata or using forensic support where necessary. Explanations about what a particular post does and does not show should be prepared in advance.

Privacy, consent, and proportionality must guide requests and responses. Public posts are generally accessible, but requests for private content should be carefully tailored to specific issues and time periods to reduce the risk of overbreadth objections and judicial pushback.

Frequently asked questions for Ontario practitioners

• How should Ontario lawyers raise social media at intake?
  Lawyers should ask directly about platform use, explain that relevant content is discoverable, and provide simple written instructions on preserving posts and avoiding new content that could be misinterpreted.
• When is expert help with social media worthwhile?
  Expert or forensic support is helpful when authenticity, manipulation, metadata, or large volumes of content are in dispute, or when a party needs to show a careful chain of custody for complex digital evidence.

Key Takeaways about Social Media in Personal Injury Cases

If you have been injured and are pursuing any kind of personal injury claim it is more important than ever to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer and to follow all of their advice. Don’t post to social media yourself until you’ve spoken to your lawyer and don’t let your family post about you either.

Don’t face your situation alone. Call us fist at Deutschmann de Koning law.

About Deutschmann de Koning Law

Deutschmann de Koning Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann and Nick de Koning focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.ddinjurylaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.