Social Media Harm Lawyer in Los Angeles
Claims brought by families whose children were harmed by social media platforms. California’s cases are coordinated here in Los Angeles.
How a Los Angeles social media harm lawsuit works.
If a child or teenager developed a serious mental health problem after heavy social media use, a social media harm lawyer in Los Angeles can review whether a claim exists. Broukhim Legal PC reviews these cases for families across Los Angeles County and California, and attorney Bejan Broukhim personally reviews each case.
On this page: Key takeaways · Why choose Broukhim Legal PC · Who may have a claim · What the lawsuits allege · Records to gather · Deadlines to file · What compensation may be sought · What a social media lawyer costs · Claims across Los Angeles
Key takeaways
- California’s social media cases are coordinated as JCCP 5255 in the Los Angeles Superior Court, and the federal cases sit separately in MDL 3047.
- The claims are about product design, such as infinite scroll, autoplay and variable-reward notifications, not about what another user posted. These are allegations, the companies deny them, and they are contested.
- Do not delete the accounts. Usage history, messages and what the app recommended to the child are the evidence. Download each platform’s data copy instead.
- This is not a class action. Each family’s claim stays separate, built on your child’s own facts and medical records.
- Broukhim Legal PC takes these cases on a contingency fee, with no fee unless we recover for you.
Why choose Broukhim Legal PC for your social media harm case?
- Direct access to your lawyer. Bejan Broukhim personally reviews your case and leads its strategy. You can speak directly with him about your case, and if another law firm is ever brought in, that happens only with your written consent.
- Years of experience, fully licensed. Bejan Broukhim brings years of experience in California injury law and holds an active California law license, State Bar number 183036.
- Evidence preserved first. The proof lives inside the phone: the usage history, screen time reports, messages and accounts. The first step is protecting that record before anything is deleted.
- Each claim built on your child’s own facts. You are not signing up to a group payout. The records, treatment and outcome belong to your family alone.
- No fee unless we recover for you. You pay nothing up front, and if nothing is recovered you owe no fee.
- Ready for court. Every case is prepared from day one as though it will go to trial, so any settlement offer is measured against a case that is ready to be tried.
Who may have a social media harm claim?
The lawsuits are about teenagers and children who could not put the product down and were harmed by it. A claim may be worth reviewing when a young person:
- Used Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat or TikTok heavily and developed depression, anxiety, an eating disorder, self-harm or a related condition.
- Has been seen by a doctor, school counselor or therapist, and those records exist.
- Still has the accounts and the usage records, or can request them from the platforms.
- Was a minor when the heavy use and the harm began.
If your child is in crisis right now, professional care comes before any claim, and getting that help first does not hurt the case.
What do the social media lawsuits allege?
Meta, Google through YouTube, Snap and TikTok are alleged to have designed their products to maximize the time young people spend on them, using features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, variable-reward notifications and appearance filters. The claims say the companies did so knowing the risk of compulsive use and its effect on adolescent mental health. These are allegations. They are contested, and the companies deny them.
The proceeding governing California claims is being run in Los Angeles County, not across the country. The litigation has also reached trial: in March 2026 a Los Angeles jury returned a verdict against Meta and Google in the first of the coordinated cases to be tried. That case belonged to another family, it is under appeal, and it says nothing about what any other claim is worth. It does show that these proceedings have moved past the preliminary stage, and further trials are scheduled through 2027.
What records should you gather for a social media harm claim?
- The accounts themselves. Do not delete them. Request the data copy each platform allows.
- Usage history and screen time reports showing how much and when the child used each app.
- Messages and what the app recommended to the child.
- Medical, school counselor and therapy records that document the diagnosis and treatment.
- School records showing changes in attendance, grades or behavior, if they exist.
Deleting a profile out of anger or to protect the family destroys that record. Keep everything as it is and let the firm tell you what to collect.
How long do you have to file a social media harm claim?
Deadlines in these cases are not simple. An injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, but claims involving a minor, and claims where the harm was only identified later, can run on timetables different from the ordinary two years. For injuries that appear later, the two years can run from when the injury and its likely cause were, or should have been, discovered. The answer depends on the specific facts, so it is the first thing worth having checked rather than assumed.
What compensation may be sought in a social media harm claim?
No result can be promised. A mass tort keeps each claim separate: your child’s own facts, your own medical records and your own recovery if there is one. You do not receive a coupon. The categories of damages that may be sought include:
- Medical and therapy expenses, past and future, including counseling and treatment for the diagnosed condition.
- Pain, suffering and emotional distress, and the loss of enjoyment of life.
- Lost earning capacity where the harm affects a young person’s future.
- Punitive damages under Civil Code section 3294 where the evidence shows malice, oppression or fraud.
How much does a social media harm lawyer cost?
No fee unless there is a recovery. Broukhim Legal PC takes social media harm cases on a contingency fee, so there is nothing to pay up front and the fee is paid out of what is recovered. If nothing is recovered, no fee is owed. The fee agreement is put in writing and signed before any work starts, as California law requires, and it also explains how the costs of running the case are handled. Your first conversation is free, confidential and carries no obligation.
Social media harm claims across Los Angeles County
Broukhim Legal PC reviews these cases from its office at 550 S Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles. Where engagement-driven design in games rather than social platforms is the issue, that is reviewed through the firm’s video game addiction practice.
Mass tort claims are handled for clients across Los Angeles County and California, and where you live does not limit a claim that is part of consolidated litigation. Browse all mass tort cases we review or the locations we serve, or tell us about your child’s social media use for a free case review.
Meet your Los Angeles social media harm lawyer
Bejan Broukhim, Founder and Lead Attorney
State Bar of California, license number 183036
Bejan Broukhim brings years of California legal experience to injury and mass tort cases and personally reviews each one. He earned his J.D. at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, served as a judicial extern in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Van Nuys Superior Court, and appeared in preliminary hearings as a certified law clerk with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Every case is prepared from day one as though it will go to trial.
Office: 550 S Hill Street, Suite 1390, Los Angeles, CA 90013, serving all of Los Angeles County and California. Get directions
Social media harm cases we review in Los Angeles
- A young person, typically a minor when use began: Most claims concern heavy use that started in early adolescence or before.
- Named platforms: Instagram and Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat are the defendants in the coordinated proceedings.
- A documented harm: Claims are built on records, so a diagnosis, treatment history or school records carry the weight here.
- A usage history: Which apps, roughly when and for how long. Platforms hold their own account data, which can be requested.
- A parent or guardian bringing it: A claim on behalf of a minor is brought by a parent or guardian, with court approval of any resolution.
- Whether it belongs in California or federal court: JCCP 5255 and MDL 3047 run in parallel, and where a claim is filed is a decision, not an accident.
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Scope and fees agreed in writing, then a plan built from day one as if the matter will go to trial.
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Social media claims, answered plainly.
No, and the difference matters. In a class action a single representative case decides the outcome for everyone and the recovery is divided. In a mass tort each claim stays separate: your child’s facts, your child’s records, and your own recovery if there is one. Cases are grouped for efficiency so that the common questions are handled once, but the individual claims are not merged.
In the coordinated California proceeding, Meta (Instagram and Facebook), Google (YouTube) and Snap remain active defendants, and TikTok has resolved a number of individual bellwether cases. Which platforms your child actually used, and roughly when, is one of the first things worth establishing, because it determines who the claim is against.
Not a simple answer here, which is why it is worth checking early rather than assuming. Claims brought on behalf of a minor and claims where the harm was recognised only later can run on different timetables from the ordinary California two years. The analysis depends on your child’s age, when the use occurred and when the harm was identified.
It depends on three things: which platforms your child used and from what age, what the treatment records show, and whether the change in behaviour or schooling was recorded somewhere at the time. Claims that proceed generally involve sustained use beginning young, followed by a harm that clinicians or the school noted while it was happening. The platforms themselves hold usage history that can be requested, so much of the evidence already exists. The first conversation is free, confidential and carries no obligation, and the scope of the work and the fees are agreed in writing before anything starts. If the facts do not support a claim you will be told so.
Records, mostly. Medical and mental health treatment records, school records where behaviour or attendance changed, and the usage history held by the platforms themselves, which can be requested. Parents often worry they have no proof. In practice the documentation that matters already exists in the hands of clinicians, schools and the companies.
Yes, procedurally. A claim on behalf of a minor is brought by a parent or guardian, and any resolution requires court approval before it takes effect, which is a protection for the child rather than an obstacle. It also affects the timing rules, which is one of the reasons the deadline question is answered case by case.
You will be asked for the specifics: which platforms, roughly when use began and how heavy it was, the treating providers, and authorisation to collect the records. Those records are reviewed against the criteria the litigation is using, and you are told candidly whether the claim proceeds. If it does, it is filed and joins the coordinated proceedings, where much of what follows is common to all claimants and requires nothing from you. Quiet periods are normal in this work.
General information about California law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by reading it. Deadlines and outcomes turn on the facts of your own matter, so have yours reviewed. By submitting, you agree that Broukhim Legal PC may contact you about your inquiry by phone, text or email. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out of texts. Consent is not a condition of hiring the firm.
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