Can Drone Operators be Responsible for Injury?

The use of drones, otherwise known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has multiplied in recent years. Thousands of drones are currently operating in the United States, and the Federal Aviation Administration estimates that by 2020 over 30,000 commercial drones will crowd the skies. Although drones are often treated as toys by their operators, they are 100 times more likely to crash than ordinary aircraft. This reality is especially disturbing when you consider that the sharp metallic blades of helicopter drones are capable of causing injury and even death. Under Texas personal injury law , the operator of a drone can be held liable for any injuries he causes.

To win a drone accident lawsuit, you must show that the operator acted negligently by failing to act with “reasonable care”. You must also prove that the drone operator’s negligence actually caused the accident, and that you were injured as a result. If you win the lawsuit, you can recover for both economic and non-economic losses, including:

Texas drone accident law contains two important loopholes:

In Texas you can be criminally charged for causing a drone accident if your degree of fault reaches the level of “criminal negligence”. Although criminal negligence requires a considerably greater degree of carelessness than civil negligence, whether or not a drone operator’s conduct can be classified as “criminal” depends on the specific facts of the case. Criminal charges against drone operators are not unprecedented — in September 2015, a drone operator was charged with three criminal offenses after his drone crashed into empty seating at the U.S. Open.

If you are injured by a drone, you should take the following steps:

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