Unquestionably one of the most compelling destination compendiums of our planet, Google Earth is sure to assist many personal injury lawyers steer clients and potential clients in the right direction. The future is bright for this mother of all Earth browsers, so here are a few important features personal injury lawyers need to know:
Seamless transition from 3D to 2D
By starting with Google Earth, type in a car accident location anywhere in the Lower Mainland, you will find yourself doing a 3D rotation of the location. For many telephone intake patrons this will be all you need to have a productive initial consultation. You can drill further down often obtaining photographs of the site in question.
Integrated Photo and Video Resources
If you need more detail about the location the collision took place drag and drop the person icon where you want and start walking around Google Street View, a feature many personal injury lawyers already use.
From there many popular locations will have photographs attached and other media resources posted by Google users. These features are intuitive so a few trial runs and you’ll be amazed at the resources that are available.
Use of Photographs at the Personal Injury Trial
Google Map photographs with accompanying dates have been entered into evidence in several Supreme Court trials so do not underestimate the power of this feature now integrated with Google Earth.
Google Map photographs with various dates have been entered into evidence. For example, a tree that fell taking out two smaller trees in the front of a house can be seen in a Google street views photos. This was put into evidence to address coverage under an insurance policy (West v. Canadian Direct Insurance, 2016 BCSC 1903). In another case Google images were in issue to determine whether defendants were bound by a contract and the copyright over materials and their use by Google Images (Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre v. Charbonneau,2016 BCSC 625).
Personal injury lawyers need to pay attention to the evolution of Google Earth as it is posed to be a game changer for the future personal injury litigator.
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyer Mr. Renn A. Holness, B.A. LL.B.