Yes, the insurance company is trying to build a "you weren't really hurt" file

That's the game.

If you work for the City of Roswell parks department, got clipped by an 18-wheeler that drifted out of its lane, and now the trucking insurer has screenshots of your Facebook or Instagram, they're not "just asking questions." They're building an argument that your back was already bad, your life looked normal online, and this wreck didn't change much.

In New Mexico, that argument can cost you real money.

Especially if the crash happened on a windy stretch where truck lane control gets ugly fast, like U.S. 70 heading toward Portales, U.S. 285 north of town, or on a longer run connecting out toward I-40. Spring in southeast New Mexico means crosswinds, dust, and tired drivers trying to make up time. A drifting semi is not rare. What matters now is proving what changed after the impact.

A smiling photo does not beat a damaged spine

Here's what most people don't realize: social media is usually weak evidence by itself, but insurers love it because juries understand pictures faster than medical records.

So if you posted a barbecue at Bottomless Lakes, your kid's game at the Roswell Independent School District fields, or a photo standing next to a mower at work, the adjuster will try to make that look like proof you're fine.

It isn't.

A photo shows a moment. It does not show pain afterward, muscle spasms that hit at night, missed work restrictions, or the difference between "I stood there for 30 seconds" and "I can safely do an eight-hour shift lifting, raking, and loading equipment."

That matters even more if you already had a back injury from years ago. New Mexico law does not let the trucking company off the hook just because your back was vulnerable. If the sideswipe aggravated an old injury, made the symptoms worse, or turned manageable pain into daily hell, that worsening is part of the claim.

The post they'll use hardest is the one that looks ordinary

Not the beach selfie.

Not the joke meme.

It's the normal-looking post. Carrying a weed trimmer. Leaning over a tailgate. Standing at the Spring River Zoo with family. Any image that lets them say, "See? He was active."

This is where people hurt themselves by overexplaining. Don't start sending long messages to the adjuster trying to decode every photo. Don't delete old posts either. Mass deletion after a claim starts can look shady, and the other side may already have the screenshots.

What you do need is a clean timeline.

When did the crash happen? When did the pain spike? What tasks at the parks department became harder or impossible? Did you miss work, get reassigned, need help loading tools, stop driving certain routes, or stop doing yard work at home? That timeline beats a random Facebook picture every time if your records back it up.

Bedrock issue: lane drift, not your feed

Keep the case centered on the wreck.

An 18-wheeler drifting into your lane is a lane-control case first. The truck driver's insurer would love to turn it into a personality contest about your posts, your old back injury, and whether you looked cheerful online.

Don't let the focus slide.

The real evidence usually looks like this:

• crash report, truck inspection records, dashcam or nearby surveillance, black box data, phone records, your medical records before and after the wreck, and work records showing what changed

If the truck drifted because the driver was fatigued, distracted, fighting wind, or making an unsafe lane movement, that is the center of the story. Not your cousin's birthday photo.

New Mexico's comparative fault rule cuts both ways

New Mexico uses pure comparative fault.

That means even if the trucking company claims you were partly at fault - maybe you lingered in the blind spot, maybe you reacted late, maybe you were moving around the truck when it drifted - you can still recover damages even if they try to pin a large share on you.

But your payout gets reduced by your percentage of fault.

So if the insurer can't beat the claim outright, the next move is usually this: blame your old back injury for most of the pain and blame you for some part of the crash. That double hit is how they discount cases.

The answer is not pretending the old injury never existed. That falls apart fast.

The answer is showing the difference between before and after. Before the wreck, maybe you worked full shifts for the city, handled grounds equipment, drove between parks, and managed flare-ups. After the wreck, maybe sitting, twisting, lifting, and sleeping got dramatically worse. That change is the point.

Don't feed their file

If you're in the middle of this right now, stop giving them extra material.

Set your accounts private, but assume nothing is truly private. Don't post about the crash, your workouts, side jobs, yard projects, hiking, fishing trips, or "feeling better today." Ask friends not to tag you. And stop talking to the adjuster like they're trying to be fair. They're trying to narrow the claim.

For a Roswell city employee, work records can matter as much as scans. If your supervisor changed your duties, if coworkers helped with lifting, if you missed maintenance routes or special event setup at Cahoon Park or the sports fields, that's real-world proof of loss. It undercuts the insurer's favorite line: "He was already hurt anyway."

One decent-looking Facebook post won't kill a legitimate claim.

But if you act like it doesn't matter, the trucking insurer will use every post, every old back complaint, and every gap in treatment to make the case look smaller than it is.