Recently, there have been a lot of changes in the legal world. In 2023, we saw tort reform, and in 2025, new Florida Rules of Civil Procedure took effect. But despite these changes, guess what has not changed? People posting too much information on social media! Fortunately for the defense, that works in our favor! Plaintiffs’ social media has the potential to shed light on their quality of life, employment status, and physical health — all facets of their life which they put at issue when they file a lawsuit. This is more common in cases involving personal injury, but it can also be true for other types of cases. Here are two real-world examples:
In one case, a father and his two children were involved in a minor car accident. He claimed they all suffered permanent neck and back injuries and that their quality of life would never be the same. However, just about one month after the car accident, social media told a different story. Their church hosted a harvest festival and their social media coordinator posted all about it on Facebook. Guess who was in the photos? You guessed it—the father and his two children. Photos posted showed the children climbing a rock wall and riding horses – while their father, smiling, carried them in his arms. In another case, a man filed a hurricane claim alleging his insurance company underpaid him for a leaking roof. However, a quick look at his Facebook posts revealed where the money went. Around the time of the insurance payout, he purchased approximately 20 guns to add to his already impressive arsenal. He proudly displayed them on Facebook for all to see.
Oftentimes, Plaintiff attorneys will argue that requests for their client’s public social media data are overbroad, unduly burdensome, or an invasion of their client’s privacy. Of course, we must be reasonable with our requests. We can’t ask for a Plaintiff’s entire social media history from every social media platform since the beginning of time. We can, however, ask for two years prior to the subject incident all the way up to the present so long as the data being sought is easily accessible and exists in electronic form.
A key case supporting social media discovery is Nucci v. Target Corp., 162 So. 3d 146, 152 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015). Here, the Court emphasized that in personal injury cases, a plaintiff’s social media posts provide an invaluable “before and after” view of their life – similar to a “day in the life” slideshow. The Court in Nucci also addressed the invasion of privacy argument. It said, “because ‘information that an individual shares through social networking web-sites like Facebook may be copied and disseminated by another,’ the expectation that such information is private, in the traditional sense of the word, is not a reasonable one.”
Fast forward to 2025, and Facebook isn’t the only game in town. There’s also Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok (maybe), Threads, Lemon8, and plenty of others!
Here’s a quick tip: Sometimes, Plaintiffs don’t use their real names on social media, so you may have to get creative. Of course, direct contact with a Plaintiff is prohibited, but legitimate methods—such as cross-referencing publicly accessible accounts or using available contact lists—can help uncover relevant information. For example, phone numbers are usually available in accident reports, medical records and/or written recorded statements. You can add a phone number to phone contacts and sync the numbers with social media accounts to see if there is a match.
Social media remains a powerful tool in litigation, often revealing key evidence that can support a defense. While ethical boundaries must be respected, leveraging publicly available information can provide valuable insights. As laws evolve, one thing stays the same—people keep posting, and that can make all the difference in a case.
For assistance in leveraging social media evidence in litigation or navigating discovery challenges, contact us at info@kubickidraper.com.