Editor's note: updated July 2026 for New York's 2026 tort-reform changes.
Insurance carriers monitor social media routinely in serious injury cases. They also hire investigators to conduct physical surveillance. These are not occasional tactics reserved for suspected fraud. They are standard tools used in every claim involving significant damages across New York City and Long Island. The carrier is not looking for fraud. It is looking for evidence that your injuries are less severe than you claim. Social media and surveillance are the most effective ways to find it.
Most injured people do not realize how early this monitoring begins. The decision to place a claimant under surveillance often comes within the first few weeks of a claim. It is most likely when the reported injuries are serious, when lost wages are significant, or when the damages demand exceeds the policy minimum. By the time a lawsuit is filed and a deposition is scheduled, the carrier may already have months of surveillance footage. It may also have a complete archive of the claimant's social media activity.
What the carrier looks for on social media
The carrier reviews your publicly available profiles on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube. It looks for posts, photos, videos, and activity that appear inconsistent with your claimed limitations.
A photo of you at a family barbecue can conflict with testimony that pain prevents you from socializing. A check-in at a gym raises questions even if you were only there to watch your child's gymnastics class. A video of you dancing at a wedding, a vacation beach photo, or a post about "finally" returning to the gym can all become exhibits.
The carrier does not need any of this to tell the whole story. It only needs it to raise a question about your credibility.
The carrier does not need evidence to be fair or in context. It only needs evidence to raise a question about credibility. A photograph of you smiling at a birthday party does not mean your back does not hurt. But the carrier will use it to argue exactly that. Once credibility is questioned, the entire claim loses value. Credibility is the most valuable asset in any personal injury case.
The carrier also looks at posts that pre-date the accident. Regular pre-accident posts about gym workouts, hiking trips, or physical activities matter. If those posts stop after the accident, the before-and-after contrast may support your claim. If the same activities appear before and after, the contrast cuts the other way. The carrier examines the full timeline.
Surveillance and social media work together
Insurance carriers combine social media monitoring with physical surveillance in a coordinated effort. An investigator may follow you based on a social media post suggesting you will be at a particular location. A post about attending your niece's soccer game on Saturday tells the investigator where to be and when. If the investigator captures video of you walking without apparent difficulty, that footage goes into the defense file. The same is true for video of you lifting a cooler into your car or standing for an extended period. Either way, that footage sits alongside the social media post in the defense file.
That combination hands the defense a story to tell the jury. The claimant posted publicly about attending the event. An investigator watched the claimant there, doing things the lawsuit says they cannot do. The medical records from that same week show the claimant told their doctor those activities were impossible. That story is damaging even when the injury is genuine. It targets credibility, not the medical evidence itself.
What surveillance captures and how it is used
The investigator records you leaving your home, walking to your car, driving, and running errands. Any public activity during the surveillance window is fair game. The footage does not need to show anything dramatic.
You carry a bag of groceries after testifying you cannot lift more than ten pounds. You bend to pick something up after claiming you cannot bend at the waist. You walk without a visible limp after your doctor documented an antalgic gait. You reach overhead after your records show restricted shoulder range of motion.
Each observation becomes evidence. There is no good explanation that can overcome the eye of the camera. If the footage contradicts your testimony, the jury believes the camera. Juries understand that people sometimes exaggerate and sometimes forget. They do not interpret video footage charitably when it contradicts sworn testimony. The defense attorney plays the surveillance video at trial during cross-examination, pauses on the incriminating moments, and lets the jury draw the conclusion. The argument does not need to be made. The video makes it.
Surveillance usually runs across multiple days. Investigators time those days carefully: around doctor visits, depositions, weekends, holidays, and claimed medical milestones. Teams work in shifts. They rotate vehicles to stay undetected. You may not notice you are being followed. Assume you are.
How to handle social media during your case
The safest approach is to stop posting entirely during the pendency of your case. If that is not realistic, follow strict rules. Do not post about the accident, the case, your injuries, your treatment, or the insurance process. Do not post photographs showing you engaged in physical activities of any kind. Do not post about travel, events, concerts, weddings, or outings. Do not check in at locations. Do not let friends or family tag you in their posts.
Review your privacy settings, but do not treat them as protection. In litigation, the defense can seek social media content through discovery. New York courts have generally allowed that discovery even from private accounts, as long as a basic relevance showing is made. Assume anything you post may eventually reach the carrier.
Do not delete posts after the case begins. Deleting evidence after litigation is anticipated can create a spoliation issue that is significantly worse than the post itself. If you want to clean up your profile, do it before you are represented and before litigation is contemplated. Once the case is active, leave the profile as it is and stop adding to it.
Follow Doctor's Orders
Follow the medical restrictions your doctor gave you. If the restriction is no lifting over ten pounds, do not carry heavy bags. If bending is restricted, stay out of the garden. If you are limited to sedentary activity, do not help a friend move furniture.
This is not about performing for a camera. It is about living consistently with your documented condition.
An investigator who captures you violating your restrictions hands the carrier evidence. The carrier uses that footage to argue your actual function is better than your reported function. That argument reduces the value of your case. It does this whether or not the underlying injury is real.
If your condition improves, tell your doctor. Accurate restrictions you actually follow are far more defensible than overstated ones you violate on camera. A medical record that honestly reflects your function is stronger evidence. One that overstates your limitations invites surveillance to contradict it.
Accuracy in the medical record prevents surveillance problems
The best defense against surveillance is a medical record that accurately reflects your limitations. If your records describe specific, moderate restrictions, surveillance footage often confirms rather than contradicts them. Your doctor notes you can lift 15 pounds but not 50. A video of you carrying a light grocery bag is consistent with that. Your doctor notes you can walk half a mile but not two miles. A video of you walking around the block proves nothing against you. Your doctor notes you can sit for an hour but not for extended periods. That is exactly what the record already says.
The problem arises when the medical record describes limitations that the surveillance contradicts. If the record says "patient is unable to lift anything" and the surveillance shows you carrying a toddler, the contradiction is damaging. The toddler may weigh 25 pounds. The medical record may have been overstated or imprecise. Neither fact helps you at trial.
The fix is not to manage your activities to avoid surveillance. The fix is to ensure the medical record reflects your actual condition accurately. What the investigator records should be consistent with what the doctor documented.
How Schwartzapfel Holbrook advises clients on social media and surveillance
At Schwartzapfel Holbrook, we cover social media and surveillance with every client at the first meeting. We prepare clients to testify about their limitations honestly and specifically. That means acknowledging what they can do, not just what they cannot. Consistency between the medical record, the testimony, and daily life is the strongest defense against both surveillance and social media challenges.
Schwartzapfel Holbrook / Fighting For You
