How Artificial Intelligence Could Change Personal Injury Law in Massachusetts

You probably already interact with AI every day without even realizing it – whether through voice assistants like Siri or Alexa, your recommendation algorithms on Netflix, or the facial recognition on your smartphone.

AI is computer software that is getting closer to thinking and learning like humans. It can also analyze massive amounts of data, identify patterns, and even make predictions. Although this might sound futuristic, it’s happening now. If applied cautiously and strategically, AI could offer benefits to personal injury lawyers and their clients. However, there are also clear risks to using these new tools. Here are some of the potential benefits, along with words of caution when it comes to AI and personal injury law.

Potential benefits of using AI for personal injury claims

There are several ways that AI could help your Boston personal injury lawyer attorney build a stronger claim.

Support for expert witnesses

Let’s say you were injured in a car accident. Experts like accident reconstructionists or medical professionals strengthen many cases by explaining technical subjects in a way that lay people can understand. AI can help these professionals analyze data faster and, in some cases, more accurately.

With accident reconstruction, AI can analyze the data from vehicle sensors, cameras, and other devices to recreate the accident scene. This could help experts understand and explain exactly what happened during the accident and who was at fault. AI can also help these professionals create better presentations, complete with reenactments that can show what took place.

Finding evidence

AI can analyze thousands of pieces of data in mere seconds, making it a powerful tool for finding information to help build a strong case on your behalf. For instance, these tools could benefit your case by having the AI sift through social media for information that could help or hurt your claim. Posting about your case is not recommended, and the opposing counsel will often check your posts for information they can use to undermine your claim – like a photo of you engaging in some physical activity that suggests your injuries aren’t too severe. By being able to analyze so much data at once, attorneys can find these types of posts more quickly – which makes it possible to prepare for how to handle anything that the other side might use against you.

Looking for issues in medical records

Medical records also feature a mountain of information relevant to your case – sometimes thousands of pages. AI could sift quickly through these records, identifying your injuries, treatment plan, and potential long-term effects. It could also highlight contradictory information that could be used against you so that your attorney has time to prepare.

Analyzing trends in similar cases

AI can also analyze past case outcomes based on factors like the type of accident, the severity of injuries, and the defendant’s insurance company. This information could help create more realistic estimates of the value of your case. With better estimates, your lawyer can prepare for negotiations.

Analyzing case law

Car accidents happen frequently, and the amount of case law on the subject is extensive. AI may be able to help attorneys quickly find cases with similar facts and look at how the court treated those claims.

 

While AI is a powerful tool that could prove extremely useful for attorneys and other professionals, we believe it’s best to approach it with some level of caution. Attorneys who were too quick to turn to AI have embarrassed themselves, and there are privacy concerns that everyone in the legal field should take very seriously.

What are the challenges of AI in personal injury law?

Professionals in every field are currently working to find the best ways to use AI – but some lawyers have already discovered that using these tools comes with some serious risks. A few of the drawbacks of AI in the legal world include the following:

• AI relies on vast amounts of data. Attorneys need to protect client data, so using a tool that might not be secure could lead to serious ethical violations and impact the outcome of cases.
• There are examples of AI “hallucinating” and making up case law. Standing in front of a judge and arguing for a certain position that turns out to be taken from a completely fake case would be embarrassing and damaging to the litigation. It’s not just lawyers that face this potential pitfall. Expert witnesses have also ended up facing consequences for adopting AI tools too soon and without enough caution.
• AI may not understand context or nuance. The law is full of subtle contextual differences, and AI that fails to pick up on nuance could incorrectly suggest outcomes or relevance of a law or case precedent. This could lead to faulty legal arguments.

If you’ve been injured in an accident, handling the legal process can be overwhelming, but you don’t have to face it alone. At Breakstone, White & Gluck, our Boston personal injury lawyers rely on our decades of experience to build the strongest possible case for you. From analyzing crash data to ensuring every claim detail is accounted for, we’re here to fight for the compensation you deserve. Let us put our skills to work for you. Complete our contact form or give us a call today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.