As a Sacramento personal injury attorney, we fully expect to learn something of value each time we work on behalf of a personal injury client. Lawyers at Sacramento ’s Sette Law Office Firm are highly experienced, yet we know that no two clients are the same, nor are the circumstances in which they suffered their personal injury. As attorneys we are poised to welcome new innovations and changes within our practice of Sacramento personal injury. Today, lawyers are facing a new challenge as technology innovations enter the courtroom as a potential player. But before we discuss the impact of tech, let’s briefly define the role of our Sacramento personal injury attorney.

Our personal injury lawyer adheres to the traditional definition of our discipline – providing proper representation to personal injury clients harmed due to the “negligence” of another individual, business, public agency or entity. Our Sacramento personal injury lawyer is particularly knowledgeable in the arena of Tort Law, a legal niche that’s inherent in personal injury actions. Attorneys work with civil wrongs and/or damages that have been done to a client’s reputation, rights or property. In Sacramento , our personal injury attorney represents people who have suffered personal injury in accidents, in the workplace, due to medical error or because of a defective product, slip and fall injuries and other accidents.

Tech Innovation may impact Sacramento Personal Injury Law

Attorneys in some cities are already testing out wearable technology for use in personal injury cases. Lawyers wearing the iconic Google Glass technology can use the device for recording witness interviews and depositions that may later be used in court as part of a personal injury case. Attorneys also envision using Google Glass to do online research in real time, while working in a court room. Sacramento accident and personal injury attorneys may also see a role for Google Glass in the jury selection process – allowing a Sacramento personal injury lawyer to, say, to communicate with an off-site jury consultant in Los Angeles, skipping the high cost of a personal appearance by such experts.

Our Sacramento accident and personal injury attorney agrees that the true potential for Google Glass in the court room is just emerging and that many legal and ethical questions are yet to be asked. Nonetheless, we acknowledge the tech innovation will likely play an increasing role in the arena of personal injury law.

Attorneys say that Google Glass is just one digital tool in the legal arena. A Canadian law firm is testing the legal waters by using information from a popular fitness tracker in a personal injury case. Attorneys want to use data from a wearable fitness device to establish the physical condition of an injured client prior to the accident. Attorneys in the past relied on testimony of physicians who typically spend minimal time assessing the condition of a personal injury victim. Lawyers at the Canadian firm think the fitness tracker will show their client was very fit prior to the accident that inflicted the personal injury and, as a result of the accident, was unable to perform her former job. Sacramento personal injury lawyer at Sette Law Office is following this potentially precedent-setting case. Of course, courts have already requested information from Face Book, but using the actual data from a wearable fitness device may prove groundbreaking for some personal injury actions.

Attorneys point out that it’s not only data from technology that may end up in court, but also the innovation itself that has potential to cause personal injury. For example, our Sacramento personal injury lawyer is aware that a gaming development kit, Oculus Rift, offers users some pretty dire product warnings. The device encases the user’s head and can cause dizziness, loss of balance, nausea and a host of perils that could lead to personal injury. Our attorneys say warnings about similar effects were present with early PlayStation and Wii devices. However, the altered sense of space and isolation caused by Oculus Rift can be profound – causing users to lose track of their real world. Sacramento personal injury lawyers note that the system is replete with warnings for the user, indicating the maker (Face Book owns it) is aware of the potential for serious personal injury. Lawyers say it’s only a matter of time before a user is harmed severely enough to make the Oculus Rift the subject of a personal injury action.

Attorneys watch the developments of such cases with interest but say a larger question about disclosure is also relevant. According to our Sacramento personal injury lawyer, the law in general is not yet clear on disclosure of information from wearable devices. That information critical to an accident and personal injury lawyer’s client may be available on, say, a Fitbit tracker is highly likely, but should that data be personal or public? Can health data recorded on wearable devices be subpoenaed just like other evidence available to Sacramento personal injury lawyers? This questions revolves around privacy issues – a matter that’s evolving along with the use of wearable technology.

Our Sacramento personal injury lawyer knows that technical innovations bring many blessings to life in the 21st century. The tools we use today with the touch of screen provide access to more information faster than ever before. Our accident and personal injury attorney can work more efficiently for our clients and access data from global resources. Our personal injury clients can communicate electronically with their Sacramento personal injury lawyer using email, text, Skype and numerous technologies. There is no doubt about the benefits of technology. But personal injury attorneys say that the legal system and courts must tread carefully as new issues revolving around technology and access to data make their way into court rooms in Sacramento . Personal injury lawyers will be weighing both the benefits and the dangers of access to personal information on wearable devices such as fitness trackers. Our personal injury lawyer is curious to learn more about the public’s expectation about privacy related to using such devices. For our Sacramento accident and personal injury attorney, this aspect of the technology revolution is still evolving and our legal system adapting to new innovation.