Drones are all the rage these days, and they can make for a dangerous rage. When they’re not crashing into crowds at tennis tournaments, they’re being shot at by your neighbor.
And in more severe cases, they can cause serious injury when not operated with care. Here are five of the worst of those cases:
- Child Loses an Eye: The absolute worst case, and one that occurred last year in Worcestershire, England. An 18-month-old lost an eyeball after it was sliced in half when a neighbor lost control of his drone. The man was allegedly an experienced drone operator, but crashed the drone after it clipped a tree. “I look at the drones in the garage,” he said later, “and I feel physically sick.”
- Photographer Loses (Part of) a Nose: A TGI Friday’s promotional “Mobile Mistletoe” drone severed the tip of a news photographer’s nose. Really. “It literally chipped off a tip of my nose,” Courier photographer Georgine Benvenuto. “It took off part of my nose and cut me here, right under my chin.”
- A Triathlete Loses a Race: An Australian triathlete was meters from the finish line when she was downed by videographer’s crashing drone. Fortunately, she suffered only minor head injuries. The operator had a familiar defense: he was hacked, by someone in the crowd.
- A Groom Loses the Moment: “I did practice a lot, probably not enough.” Not the words you probably want to hear from your wedding photographer after he flies a 3-lb quad copter into your face. While this happened at a bridal shoot prior to the ceremony, the groom was probably still wearing the cuts to his check and head at the wedding two days later.
- The Bulls Lose to a Drone: When Virginia decides to host its own version of The Running of the Bulls at a racetrack in Richmond, you don’t expect the bulk of the injuries to come from a drone filming the event. But one crashing drone took out 5 of the 700 runners out for the event. Better to be hit by a drone than a 16,000-lb horned animal.
While the FAA is still sorting out its drone regulations, negligent drone operators could be held liable for any injuries they cause. If a drone has injured you or a loved one, you may want to contact an experienced personal injury attorney near you.
Related Resources:
- Injured in an accident? Get your claim reviewed by an attorney for free. (Consumer Injury)
- Negligence and Other Injuries (FindLaw’s Injured)
- ‘Drone Slayer’ Slays Drone, Gets Sued (FindLaw’s Courtside)
- Legal How-To: Register a Drone With the FAA (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
