SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOUR CLAIM
Photos posted on social media ruin a claimant’s compensation claim in court
Posted: February 21, 2025
A recent decision of the District Court at Maroochydore in Queensland in the matter of Jaksa -v- Sweeny & Anor [2025] QDC 2 highlighted the impact of social media posts made by a claimant in a personal injuries case.
The claimant claimed compensation for a right shoulder injury arising from a motor vehicle accident. The insurer led evidence of the social media posts made by the claimant to argue that the claimant had not proved that she did sustain the full extent of the right shoulder injury as she alleged in the car crash.
Interestingly, the Judge hearing the matter went into significant detail regarding each of the social media posts, which were referred to by the Judge as follows:
- Photo of Ms Jaksa perched on a fence at Point Cartwright – April 2021
- Photo of Ms Jaksa on a boat holding a fish – August 2021
- Video of Ms Jaksa falling in water – December 2021
- Photos of Ms Jaksa in the Whitsundays – December 2021
- Photos of Ms Jaksa drinking from a can with her head tilted back – December 2021 and August 2022
- Photo of Ms Jaksa following a concert in Brisbane – February 2023
- Video of Ms Jaksa at staff party – Christmas 2023
The Judge carefully considered and discussed each post in reference to the extent of the injury the claimant claimed for to her right shoulder. For example:
Photo of Ms Jaksa perched on a fence at Point Cartwright – April 2021
The Judge considered how and why the claimant was sitting on a fence and whether the act of being on a fence or getting up on a fence was inconsistent with her alleged injury. The Judge found at paragraph [29]:
"the evidence persuades me that Ms Jaksa was probably not suffering any significant pain to her arm and shoulder at the time the photograph was taken. This is inconsistent with her evidence of continuing, almost constant pain in her shoulder, and of her inability to perform tasks with her right arm”.
Photo of Ms Jaksa on a boat holding a fish – August 2021
Again, the Judge went into considerable detail in his reasons to examine and describe the relevance of this photograph to the claim. The Judge found at paragraph [35]:
“… I think it is more probably that Ms Jaksa did not experience pain or difficulty in holding the fish… this is inconsistent with her reports of the extent and severity of pain to her shoulder and arm and causes me to doubt the reliability of her evidence”.
Video of Ms Jaska at staff party – Christmas 2023
The Judge noted that the video showed the claimant doing different things, including drinking a shot, doing the splits and doing a dance move with a mop. His Honour accepted the evidence of an occupational therapist that someone with the injuries complained of by the claimant, would not have moved with such speed and fluidity as shown in the video.
Impact of social media posts
The Judge said at paragraph 59:
“I am conscious that uploads to social media do not always represent reality, and that photographs and videos are only a snapshot or a moment in time. It is appropriate to be cautious in drawing conclusions from such evidence. But in this case the evidence is not 1 or 2 images. It is a series of images and videos over time from which a conclusion may be more comfortably drawn”.
And at [paragraph 61], “…taken together, this evidence leads me to conclude that there were several occasions across more than 2 years when Ms Jaksa performed movement with her right arm in a manner inconsistent with her claims as to the extent of her injury”.
What can claimants take away from this Judgment?
This close examination of social media evidence serves as a reminder to all parties engaged in personal injury claims and other litigation. Examination of social media is a free investigative tool that insurers and other parties regularly use to test the credibility of a claimant or the other side.
At Purcell Taylor Lawyers, our clients are advised not to delete social media posts, but care and consideration should be taken regarding posts made as they will be scrutinised later. Even in the case that a social media account is private, that may not stop friends or associates, sharing those posts with others. It is again a reminder that anything posted on the internet no longer belongs to the person that has posted that material and is certainly no longer private.
A link to the full judgment can be found here:
