Wearable Technology in The Realm of Personal Injury Law

Wearable technology is enjoying a huge surge in popularity. Information, and new ways to organize our lives are on the rise, accessed by devices we wear and carry with us. Our devices can do some incredible things – but how smart are they, really? The truth is, these devices can help you in a big way, should anything bad happen to you.

In personal injury law, wearable technology has the potential to become central to a case, and could help you with your claim if indeed you were wearing a smart device when the accident happened. Such devices record our movements through GPS tracking, and some even track heart rate, and even if you are none too comfortable with the fact that this data exists, it can play a major role in identifying a perpetrator in the event of a personal injury.

Beyond Calorie Tracking

You know that your wearable device can track your activity, such as your steps and calories burned over the course of a day, but this data can be very illustrative when pursuing an injury claim. It can prove what your normal activity is over time prior to the accident, and can show the state of your activity following the event, and this can be used as evidence. Reduced mobility, interrupted sleep patterns and more can be determined, all of which can provide substance to your case. This has been tested in court and proven to be helpful, specifically in a Canadian case involving a fitness instructor. The data was taken from a FitBit device, and analyzed against data averaged from the claimants demographic, and was later used in court to support the injury claim.

Potential Issues

Despite the exciting potential of this technology in the realm of personal injury law, some issues have been raised with regard to the data in question. One issue was brought to bear regarding concerns that were the claimant to give their device to another person to wear that the results may not be indicative of the truth. If the ensuing court case recommended compensation that the claimant did not deserve, the matter would be fraudulent, the claimant would face contempt charges and possibly face imprisonment as a result.

Privacy issues have yet to be addressed, as an individuals data would need to be accessed, but with the rising popularity of wearable devices, there is little doubt that insurance companies will want access.

Conclusions

Can your wearable smart device help you win your injury claim?

While there is some headway being made in this direction, the answer is still a vague ‘yes and no.’ The data at issue is definitely an asset, and can probably help you advance your claim and better your odds of getting the compensation you are entitled to, but with the current level of skepticism and little regulatory protocols, we’ve still got a ways to go.