Pursuing justice in the form of a wrongful death lawsuit can be greatly supported by today’s technology. Certain tools and technology can be used to build stronger cases and uncover crucial evidence. For families seeking accountability and compensation for their loss, technology offers a powerful way to document, analyze, and present evidence that might otherwise be ignored.
A wrongful death attorney will be your primary source of support throughout your case. They will present your case to the judge or jury, and negotiate a generous settlement if you choose to settle. Although money can’t bring back your loved one, you still deserve to be financially compensated. If you want to strengthen your case, here’s how technology can support your legal case.
1. Pattern recognition
With the help of AI, certain technologies can analyze patterns far beyond what a human being is capable of achieving. AI can analyze large amounts of data and find patterns at lightning fast speed, without overlooking details the human eye can easily miss.
2. Accident reconstruction
Part of proving a wrongful death lawsuit often includes accident reconstruction. Current technology is pretty good, with 3D modeling and simulation applications doing the hard work.
In addition to 3D modeling, some reconstructionists use drone footage to analyze a scene and use that footage to create a simulation in another application. There’s also software that can analyze the impact of whatever allegedly killed the person, whether it was a weapon, an object, a car, or something else.
3. Digital evidence collection and preservation
Technology can help in many ways to collect and preserve evidence. For example, if you have surveillance footage as evidence, there are proper ways to make copies to preserve the original footage and also create enhanced versions. Enhancing video footage either manually or with AI can bring many more details to light that can’t be seen otherwise.
4. Location proof
A common form of digital evidence comes in the form of GPS and location data. This can be extracted from mobile devices, like phones, tablets, and smart watches, and even a vehicle. Social media platforms track user locations with geolocation services, and if posts are geotagged, they create a record of a user’s location and can help to establish a timeline of events.
If you need to prove where a person was (or was not), location data can be extremely helpful for your case.
5. Evidence organization
Technology can help keep your evidence organized. Some attorneys use digital case management systems, and it helps them keep case details highly organized. You don’t need to be an attorney to organize your documentation and evidence. A secure file-sharing platform will make it easy to upload, tag, and categorize your files. The best platforms offer version control systems so you can keep all versions of a file, but the main link will always lead to the most current version.
6. Virtual meetings
Whether you need to talk to your lawyer, a witness, or someone else without leaving your house, technology makes virtual communication easy. In addition to making long-distance communication simple, it’s more convenient to hop on a video call than to drive to meet someone in person.
7. Interactive courtroom displays
Many attorneys use digital technology to present evidence in the courtroom. Some presentations are interactive, where there is a large touchscreen display that allows for direct annotation, highlighting key points, and altering the visuals during the presentation. Interactive presentations hold a jury’s attention more than static exhibits, like printed documents.
8. Legal research
More attorneys are starting to use digital tools for legal research, including AI. Being able to access case law databases, precedent analysis tools, settlement calculation software, and legal AI assistants has made a huge, positive difference. Legal research can be time-consuming and cumbersome, but it’s a necessary part of the process. AI significantly speeds that up by accessing and analyzing massive databases of case data at a rapid pace, eliminating the frustration.
Technology supports justice
As technology continues to evolve, its role in wrongful death lawsuits will expand, yet remain a vital part of the pursuit of justice and closure. Digital tools not only strengthen the legal process, but also help those affected by a tragic loss properly present their case. While technology can’t ease the pain of losing a loved one, it can support the pursuit of accountability and compensation, so families can focus on healing while their attorney builds a strong case.