From fitness trackers to smartwatches, wearable health technology has become a routine part of daily life. These devices track everything from heart rate and sleep patterns to physical activity and GPS location. For most people, the goal is personal health and wellness—but for attorneys and insurers, wearable data is starting to play a surprising role in personal injury cases.

Whether you’ve been injured in a car crash, slip-and-fall, or workplace incident, the data from your smartwatch or fitness tracker may become part of the evidence. In some cases, this technology can support a claim and show how your life changed after the injury. In others, it could be used to challenge your case.

Learn more about how wearable health devices are being used in personal injury law, the benefits and risks of introducing this data, and how to protect yourself if you're involved in a legal claim in the following article.

The Rise of Wearable Data in Injury Claims

Wearables like Apple Watches, Fitbits, Garmins, and even certain smartphones collect continuous health and movement data. This can include:

• Daily step counts
• Heart rate trends
• Sleep quality and duration
• GPS data
• Exercise intensity and recovery

In a legal setting, this data can serve as a digital footprint of your physical activity and health patterns before and after an injury. For example, someone claiming they can no longer jog or sleep properly due to a back injury could potentially support that claim with data showing a dramatic drop in movement and rest quality.

Attorneys have started using wearable data as:

• Evidence of reduced physical activity
• Timeline corroboration for when an injury occurred
• Support for pain and suffering claims
• Counter-evidence in disputes over the extent of injury

Benefits of Using Wearable Data in Personal Injury Cases

1. Provides Objective Support

Unlike subjective pain reports or memory-based accounts, wearable data offers a time-stamped, measurable record of your condition. If your step count plummeted and your resting heart rate spiked after the accident, that might align with medical findings and support your injury claim.

2. Fills in the Gaps

Sometimes there’s a gap between when an injury happened and when treatment began. Wearable data may help fill in those blanks and demonstrate that something changed in your daily health, even if it wasn’t documented right away.

3. Can Strengthen Settlement Negotiations

Data-backed evidence can make it harder for insurance companies to dispute your claim. In turn, that might improve your chances of reaching a fair settlement without needing to go to trial.

Risks of Wearable Data in Legal Claims

While wearables can help, they can also be a double-edged sword. Insurance companies and defense lawyers might request access to this data to look for inconsistencies.

For example:

• If your data shows you were highly active after the alleged injury, they may argue you’re exaggerating.
• Gaps in data reporting might be questioned as signs of withholding or tampering.

It’s also worth noting that wearable data isn’t foolproof. Devices can malfunction, be worn incorrectly, or misread data entirely.

Privacy and Admissibility Concerns

Introducing wearable data into a legal case raises important questions:

• Who owns the data? Typically, you do—but once it’s submitted as evidence, opposing counsel may have the right to analyze it.
• Is the data accurate enough? Courts have discretion to decide whether wearable data is reliable and relevant.
• Can the data be used against you? If you open the door to wearable data, you may be required to provide full access—not just the parts that support your claim.

Because this area of law is still developing, rulings can vary based on the jurisdiction and specific circumstances. That’s why it’s important to work with an attorney who understands the legal and technical aspects of wearable data.

How Other States Are Adapting

As of now, there are no uniform national standards regulating the use of wearable health data in personal injury cases. Many states treat it like any other form of electronic evidence—admissible if it’s relevant, authenticated, and doesn’t unfairly prejudice the jury.

The key challenge is ensuring the data’s reliability and maintaining a clear chain of custody. Attorneys may need to work with digital forensics experts or subpoena device manufacturers to properly introduce wearable data in court.

Call Brandon J. Broderick For Legal Help

If you’ve been injured and wear a fitness tracker or smartwatch, you may already have valuable evidence on your wrist. But whether that data helps or hurts your case depends on how it’s handled.

At Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, we stay ahead of legal trends—including the growing use of wearable data in personal injury law. We can help you decide whether to use this data, protect your privacy, and build a strong, fact-based case.

Contact us today for a free consultation.