A judge ordered the parties in a personal injury lawsuit to retain a neutral forensic computer expert, at defendants’ expense, to review plaintiff’s private Facebook postings for evidence of activities inconsistent with her alleged injuries. In Perrone v. Rose City HMA, LLC [PDF], plaintiff Grace Perrone claimed to have suffered severe, life-altering, and disabling injuries as a result of a fall at the Lancaster Regional Medical Center (LRMC). Perrone alleged that her injuries made it impossible for her to go for walks, garden, bicycle, or even to knit or sew.
Discovery Dispute Leads to Motion to Compel
During settlement discussions, the defendants had produced photographs of Perrone from her Facebook page depicting her shoveling snow, climbing up a snow bank, and riding a sled downhill on her stomach, face first, tumbling, and laughing—all activities inconsistent with her alleged injuries. Perrone’s Facebook page indicated that the photos were posted on February 6 and 13, 2010, a few weeks after the alleged injuries at the LRMC and coincident to two significant snowfalls in the area.