Drone Injury

Disfigurement by Drone: What to Do Next

Posted November 6, 2017 by Mazow McCullough & filed under Drone Injury.

Drones offer amazing developments for aerial photography and recreation. However, in the wrong hands, they can also be dangerous. Despite taking protection measures, there is still a chance of sustaining a drone injury if you are visiting a public venue or an errant drone crosses into your property.

Head injuries may occur with drone impacts, but facial disfigurement is also likely. If you sustain this type of injury from a drone, here is what you need to know.

The Concerns

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) research wing finished a report regarding drone collisions with people on the ground. It mainly evaluated head injuries, but it also indicated that laceration injuries produced severe consequences. Drone operators are most vulnerable to them, but bystanders are easy targets as well.

The FAA was already aware that propellers from remote-controlled flying machines were hazardous. In 2013, a 19-year-old Brooklyn resident died after receiving lacerations from his remote-controlled helicopter. While discussing this incident, the FAA acknowledged the same was possible with drones.

Reported injuries of this nature over the past several years include:

A case handled by this office where guests suffered disfigurement when a drone operated by the groom recording his wedding crashed into them;
Brooklyn photographer, Georgine Benvenuto, losing the tip of her nose when a drone collided with her;
Australian triathlete, Raija Ogden, suffered a cut on her head when an operator lost control of their drone;
A drone crash at the Virginia Motorsports Park injured four or five people when it landed in the grandstands.

The FAA recommended propeller guards or cages to prevent injuries. Since the industry does not have standards for this equipment or other safety precautions, this cannot always be guaranteed.

Disfigured? Here is What to Do

Operator error, technology failure, and even hackers can cause drone failure. Product liability can come into play too if the drone was not safely designed.

If you suffer from a drone injury that has disfigured you, there are steps you should take immediately:

Get the facts. Learn who the drone belongs to, what happened before the collision, and if there were unusual circumstances, like an unexplainable loss of control. This will help determine who may be responsible for your injuries.
Receive medical treatment. This includes stitches, cosmetic surgery, and any type of pain control. Complete your recommended treatment plan to ensure the best possible recovery–both medically and in your civil claim.
Document in writing the effects of the injury on your life. Disfigurement has severe consequences to your quality of life. Even if your injuries can be addressed with cosmetic surgery, recovery can be difficult and the emotional effects can be long-term. Document each day in writing so you have a contemporaneous record of your experiences.
Call an attorney. You need to focus on healing, not witness interviews, medical record collection or communication with insurance companies. Hiring an attorney to handle your drone claim assures your case receives the attention it deserves.

The Law Offices of Mazow | McCullough, P.C. offers skilled legal representation to those who are injured by drones. If this has happened to you or a loved one, contact our office today a free, no-obligation case evaluation.

How Drones Cause Traumatic Brain Injury

Posted August 30, 2017 by Mazow McCullough & filed under Drone Injury.

Drones are quickly becoming an exciting new hobby as well as a tool for photographers, real estate agents, and more. Anyone who needs an aerial view of something can do so easily with a drone. However, drones have been proving to be more dangerous than anyone expected.

Although individuals can take steps to prevent drones from coming onto their property, this is not a foolproof way to prevent accidents. Drone injuries can and do occur, causing families to incur astronomical medical expenses as well as physical and emotional trauma.

Here’s how drones can cause traumatic brain injuries and how you can get the help you need after you or a loved one were harmed by a drone.

Falling Drones

The most common form of drone accident occurs when a drone suddenly falls out of the sky and strikes someone. Heavy equipment and spinning blades can cause significant and even disfiguring injuries depending on the circumstances surrounding the accident. Causes of drone injuries include operator inexperience, hacking, and equipment malfunction.

Concussions

Concussions are the mildest form of traumatic brain injury and occur with blunt force trauma. The force of a drone falling a short distance onto someone’s head can easily cause a concussion, which is typically marked by dizziness, confusion, and headaches.

Closed Head Injuries

Drones can also cause more serious closed head injuries when they fall from greater heights and with more force. These injuries can include but aren’t limited to contusions or bruises on the brain, internal hemorrhaging or hematomas, and diffuse axonal injuries.

Symptoms of closed head injuries are similar to concussions but are typically more severe. Loss of consciousness, headaches, dilated pupils, and speech and memory problems are often signs of a severe closed head injury.

Open Head Injuries

Open head injuries are one of the most severe types of brain injury. This occurs when an object penetrates the skull and injures the brain. This type of injury can be caused by a drone that is being flown irresponsibly or a drone that falls out of the sky if there is enough force propelling the drone.

Open head injuries require medical treatment immediately and damage to the brain may be able to be repaired surgically. There are few, if any, cases of open head injuries that do not require surgical intervention. In cases of severe closed and open head injuries, long term symptoms and permanent disability may occur.

Contact Mazow | McCullough, PC Today

If you or a loved one have been the victim of a drone injury, don’t hesitate to get legal help. At Mazow | McCullough, PC, we have experience helping victims and their families determine who may be responsible for a drone accident and holding them legally accountable for damages. Call today for a consultation at (855) 693-9084.

Who Is Legally Responsible for a Drone Injury?

Posted June 20, 2017 by Mazow McCullough & filed under Drone Injury.

Drones are becoming more and more popular and as people use them for business or recreation, injuries related to drones are unfortunately on the rise. When a drone injury occurs, it is difficult to know exactly who caused the injury and how to hold that person or entity responsible for any damages caused.

Here are a few examples of individuals or companies that may be held responsible for drone injuries, depending on the circumstances.

The Drone Operator

Most often, the operator of the drone is found to be at fault when his or her drone injures someone else. Drone injuries are easily caused by operator error and carelessness, whether they exhibited negligence when maintaining the craft or when flying it.

Hackers

While hackers of drone software do exist, they’re responsible for a very small percentage of drone crashes. However, in any drone injury, it’s important to examine all potential responsible parties. Signal scramblers can cause a drone to stop working and suddenly drop out of the air, potentially injuring anyone standing below. However, in order for a drone operator to defend him or herself and suggest that hackers are responsible for the injury, there must be proof that hacking took place.

The Designer or Manufacturer of the Drone

Products of any kind – including drones – can become defective either through poor design or a manufacturing defect. Similar to traditional product liability claims, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff to determine if and how a manufacturer defect caused an accident and any related injuries.

The Drone Retailer

On occasion, the retailer of the drone may be found at fault for injuries. If a retailer is knowingly selling drones that are defective or is selling drones to individuals under the age of 13 (in the U.S., according to the FAA, users must register to fly an Unmanned Aircraft (UMA) to legally fly a drone — and you must be 13 to register). While it’s not against the law to sell a drone to someone under the age of 13, in some cases the retailer could be held at least partially responsible if the drone was sold irresponsibly.

If you or a loved one were hurt by a drone, don’t hesitate to contact a drone injury attorney with experience. Contact the Law Offices of Mazow | McCullough, PC today for more information by calling 855-693-9084.

Can You Stop Drones from Coming onto Your Property?

Posted May 26, 2017 by Mazow McCullough & filed under Drone Injury, Property Law.

Drones Drones are becoming popular in all walks of life, from hobbyists to real estate agents to professional wedding photographers. While drones can be quite useful in providing aerial views and can be fun to fly, like any technology, there’s always the possibility that something could go wrong.

Whether it be due to operator error or an actual malfunction in the drone itself, a drone can fly at high speeds and crash into people, causing critical, disfiguring, and even deadly injuries. Drone injuries becoming more prevalent is a great reason to stop drones from coming onto your personal property – but can you?

Radar Jammers

Radar jammers, like the Blighter Anti-UAV Defense System (AUDS), are able to scan an area for unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and when one is detected, the system will enable a radio frequency designed to jam the signals of the drone. The drone will no longer be connected to the controller and cannot be flown nor will the drone be able to relay visual information back to the controller.

Radar jammers can be installed outside your home or on a gate or post on your property, but it’s important to be aware that this solution may protect your privacy but it could also increase your risk of injury by drones. If a drone does come onto your property and your radar jammer jams the signal, the drone could come crashing down and potentially harm anyone who happened to be in the way. Radar jammers are legal to operate in Massachusetts and New Hampshire but are currently against the law in Washington DC, Nebraska, Utah, Oklahoma, California, Minnesota, Colorado, and Virginia.

Create a “No-Fly Zone”

You can aim to keep drones out of your property altogether by signing up for NoFlyZone, a database that lists several drone manufacturers and their drones. When you enter your address into the database, the built-in GPS systems of these drones will not allow the drones to fly into the area you have specified as a “no-fly zone.”

Unfortunately, not all drone manufacturers are listed in this database, so there is a possibility that a drone may still find its way onto your property. However, this is a great first step to protecting yourself against drone intrusion and injuries. As the demand for privacy and protection against drones grows, the manufacturers listed should grow and it’s likely that eventually, a database will exist for all drones.

Have You Suffered a Drone Injury?

Have you or a loved one been injured by a drone? If so, it’s likely that someone else’s negligence was a factor in the incident, be it the operator or manufacturer of the drone. At Mazow | McCullough, PC, we understand how devastating drone injuries can be. Contact us today for a consultation to discuss compensation for the damages you’ve suffered by calling 855-693-9084 or 978-744-8000.

5 Causes of Drone Injuries

Posted May 22, 2017 by Mazow McCullough & filed under Drone Injury.

Drones are relatively new on the market today and while they can be a great way to get an aerial view of something, the laws surrounding drones and drone injuries aren’t exactly clear at present. However, drone operators who exhibit clear negligence and injure someone else with their drone may be held responsible for their carelessness. Here are 5 causes of drone injuries and what to do if you were hurt by a drone.

Falling Drones

Drones have the potential to run out of power or come to a stop in the sky, falling dozens or even hundreds of feet down. If a person or group of people happen to below the falling drone, critical injury can occur.

Spinning Blades

The spinning blades that keep a drone in the air are sharp and can seriously harm a person should they come into contact with them. In England, an 18-month old child lost his eye as a result of the spinning blades coming into contact with his face after a neighbor lost control of the drone.

Loss of Control

If, like in the above case, a drone operator loses control of the drone, the machine can crash at any time. A drone flying as fast as a car without anyone behind the wheel per se can have dangerous and potentially deadly consequences.

Improper Handling

There are many instances where the improper handling of drones have injured people. Perhaps one of the most notable cases, handled by our firm, is where a wedding photographer crashed his three-pound quadcopter into the faces of two guests during the reception.

Technology Failure

In some cases, drone technology will fail, causing the machine to crash into a person or harm them in some way. In cases like these, the drone operator may not be held responsible for the injuries, but rather, the company that designed and/or manufactured the drone. It is not quite clear who was piloting the drone at the time, or what experience the pilot had.

At Mazow | McCullough, PC, we understand how devastating a drone injury can be to both adults and children. We are committed to providing victims of drone injuries with comprehensive legal support and advocacy. We’ll work hard to determine who may be held responsible for the accident and to see to it that you get the full and fair compensation you deserve.