Seek legal counsel to explain Meta’s responsibility for mental health dangers.

Michigan – January 30, 2023

Meta Platforms Inc., the company behind Facebook, Instagram and other apps continues to be hard hit with multiple lawsuits from parents, and school districts who say the brand’s algorithms make kids addicted to social media and lead to dangerous consequences of negative mental health and suicidal ideology. Although alarms have been raised about social media addiction for years, Haugen’s testimony in Congress and valid concerns around young people’s increased time spent online in the past two years, change is not occurring fast enough for families who have lost loved ones due to emotional breakdown, severe depression, or suicide. Victims of social media addiction on Meta platforms including Facebook Instagram or Snapchat should talk with a personal injury lawyer about identified negative health impacts that may include:

Depression or depressive symptoms
Anxiety
Eating Disorders
Body Dysmorphia
ADHD
Self-harm or suicidal ideation
Any other diagnosed mental illnesses

Formal evaluation.

It is important for a doctor to request that a “functional capacity evaluation” be conducted to determine residual harms and how social media drove them. Victims of social media harms may need to prove that the negative mental health issues were not present before the extended use of the platforms.

Recoverable damage compensation.

Damage compensation in a personal injury lawsuit refers to correcting any losses, economic or non-economic, incurred because of an external factor. Any mental health struggles caused by Instagram in this case may require compensation to cover:

Medical treatment costs,
Therapy costs,
Pain and suffering,
Emotional damages,
Lifelong disability addresses loss of income and professional training,
Other potential damages as identified in the Meta lawsuits.

Victim criteria.

Lawsuits for social media may be based on improper or non-existent warnings to the dangers posed by their use and victims who used the platforms before they turned 21, spend more than 3 hours per day and suffer from mental health issues may be able to build a case against Instagram based on the lack of transparency regarding known dangers data researched by Meta. Depending on the harms to a victim’s health, it may be prudent to consult with a Michigan Facebook lawsuit attorney at the Neumann Law Group who can explain when legal action is warranted and how the process plays out.

Hire a lawyer.

Michigan personal injury attorneys at the Neumann Law Group will assist families to build a case against Meta, Facebook or other social media platforms based on evidence of proof of injury to the victim. Proving negligence may require a variety of witnesses from the behavioral health, medical, technological design, and consumer protection specialties, in addition to collecting scientific evidence supporting associated mental health risks, crises and statistical death numbers related to social media.

Neumann Law Group

300 E Front St #445
Traverse City, MI 49684
Phone: (231) 221-0050
Fax: (231) 221-0051

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