Modern technology can help improve your fitness, track the quality of your sleep and also provide important data in personal injury cases!
Fitness tracker products like Fitbit and Garmin are designed to sense and record the movements of the user. The trackers record data such as steps taken and heart rate to track distance traveled and even body mass index as users measure their progress against fitness goals.
The data in fitness trackers has even been used in several recent personal injury and criminal cases. In 2015, a Canadian personal trainer who had suffered injuries in an auto accident was able to demonstrate the severity of the injuries by proving how much her Fitbit-recorded activity levels had diminished after the accident.
In a more recent case, a Connecticut man was charged with killing his wife after analyzing her Fitbit and other technology including the home’s alarm system and cellphone activity. The husband stated that he found his wife fatally shot at their home, but her Fitbit showed recorded activity for an hour after the time the husband reported that the intruder had killed her.
Fitness Trackers May Hold Important and Relevant Data
In a personal injury case, generally, the injured party must prove how serious the injuries are. In the past, more traditional evidence like proof of lost work, doctor evaluations, and witness reports form the bulk of proof. However, some of these are clinical interpretations and not always objective in measuring the severity of an injury.
Recently there has been growing acceptance that the information contained in fitness trackers is an accurate measure of activity before and after an injury and therefore valid for evidence. Some experts have even called the devices the “black box” for body movement, similar to the important data contained in airplane black boxes.
Some fitness trackers also record GPS information to identify a user’s location. This can be important information in a personal injury or criminal case – or can go wrong if the user has lied about his whereabouts.
Using fitness trackers in legal matters has already been challenged in terms of accuracy and privacy rules. In some cases, a warrant may be required to obtain the device if the user won’t give it up. However, fitness trackers and other sophisticated monitoring devices are here to stay and certainly will be an increasing source of evidence in all types of legal cases.
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We Can Help with All Types of Personal Injuries
If you or a family member has been injured in an accident or by any type of personal injury, please contact the Sevenish Law Firm immediately. Our experienced attorneys will fight for the compensation that you deserve. Please call us for a free consultation. Attorney Randall Sevenish, personal injury attorney in Indianapolis, will fight to secure justice for you and your family. You can reach us at 800-278-9200 or contact us via the website.
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