As more and more people begin to embrace advanced technologies, it’s no surprise that various gadgets are now having an impact in personal injury cases. As a personal injury attorney, its Attorney Vargas’ job to ensure that every possible method is used to argue your case. As new innovations come on to the market, we are constantly assessing the ways in which we can use them. Read on to learn more about one particular case involving technology and then reach out to us at 909-982-0707 for your free legal consultation.
Fitbit and other wearable technologies could have a huge impact on court cases
Both criminal and civil cases could see information gathered by wearable technologies used in the near future. Other things, like smartwatches, have already been used, and have had an impact. The first instance of using these technologies happened in Canada when the info from a Fitbit helped support an attorney’s personal injury insurance fraud case.
The first instance of using a Fitbit to prove a case
In the case in question, the law firm got information from the client’s Fitbit. They then sent it to a company called Vivametrica, which analyzed it. That company was able to compare the information learned about the injured client to the activity levels of the average person. This is an ingenious way to use this data and we’re interested to learn more about other ways it can be used.
Wearable technology may be able to do more than you think
When you think about Apple Watches or Fitbit you may think about it tracking health data. The truth is that they can do quite a bit more. They can give courts information on where a particular device was located at any given moment, and what movements took place. With the right analysis, it would be possible to use these devices to find out every single place a person went and the length of time they spent there.
Privacy will have some impact on how this data is used
Of course, some people worry about their privacy being violated with this use of their fitness bands. As we mentioned, this is a particularly new way to use technology. We will be interested to see what the courts accept and what they do when privacy is breached.
It’s also essential for us to note that it wouldn’t be possible for an insurance company to force a plaintiff to wear this type of tracking device. That said, if a plaintiff does wear it on their own accord, then the data on it may be available to insurance companies via subpoena. In that situation, it could be used against you.
Work with an attorney who will exhaust every avenue to represent you
There’s no cookie cutter answer on how to fight a personal injury case. The right moves for a plaintiff involved in a bike accident wouldn’t be the same as a client who suffered from a drowning accident. It’s also true that this technology may be used in some cases but avoided in others. To learn more about what your options are, reach out to Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation.
