Facebook Photos Cause Questions in Personal Injury Case

Allied Concrete Company of Richmond, Virginia, was ordered to pay $10.6 million to the widower and the parents of a woman who was killed when a cement truck hit the car the victim was riding in. The concrete company’s lawyers were denied a new trial by Charlottesville Circuit Judge Edward L. Hogshire. The company appealed based on the fact that the woman’s husband had been advised to clean up his Facebook page to eliminate photos of him holding a beer and other pictures that the husband’s attorney told him jurors might find offensive.

The man and his lawyer were sanctioned $722,000 from the $8.6 million he was awarded for tampering with the Facebook page, which was considered to be misconduct. (The parents of the woman each received one million dollars.)

According to court documents, a month before the trial started, the husband’s lawyer requested that 16 photos from the Facebook page be deleted. Among the photos were pictures of the husband with alcohol and a photo of him wearing a t-shirt that said “I (heart symbol) hot moms.”

The concrete company’s attorney argued unsuccessfully that a new trial should be granted because of the misconduct. Justices did not believe the photos would have made much difference in the outcome of the case.

While the concrete company did not dispute that their vehicle caused the death of the woman, they did dispute the amount of the award. The widower’s attorney successfully argued against the new trial.

This case illustrates how important pre-trial preparation can be and how important it is that victims find a competent personal injury attorney.

David Van Sant is an Alpharetta Accident Lawyer who works with accident victims. He has secured multi-million dollar awards for his clients on numerous occasions. He is considered to be one of the top personal injury attorneys in the Atlanta area. For more information on Mr. Van Sant, contact his office today.