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Man fined for flying drone that hit baby in the face

Mr. Salty

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The city's fine was minimal. I predict an eventual lawsuit will be more costly.

Davenport man fined $160 for flying drone that hit baby in the face

A 19-year-old Davenport, Iowa, man has been issued a civil citation for flying a drone that struck and injured a 1-year-old last month.

Cassandra Roberts took her 1-year-old son Atticus to Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf, Iowa, on July 24, where he was struck in the face with a drone while sitting on the swings.

The boy had cuts on his face and his mother took him to Trinity Bettendorf Hospital where doctors gave him three stitches on his cheek and two in his lips.

After Atticus was hit, two men flying the drone at nearby soccer fields came over to Roberts and apologized for hitting her son. She was focused on bringing her son to the hospital and did not get their names, Roberts said.

The Bettendorf Police Department wrote on Facebook Monday that the individuals had been identified.

One of them, who was piloting the drone when it struck Atticus, will pay a $160 fine, including a $75 civil penalty to the city of Bettendorf and $85 in court costs, police said.

636689046391716668-37751906-2055810661104537-2511130587557789696-n.jpg

One-year-old Atticus was struck by a drone while playing in Bettendorf's Crow Creek Park with his mother on July 24. Police have fined a 19-year-old Davenport man $160 for flying the drone in a city park without permission. (Photo: Special to the Register)


A Bettendorf ordinance prohibits flying a drone in a city park without permission, said Bettendorf Police Capt. Justin Paul.

Paul said the permission process runs through the city's Parks and Recreation director, who can give written permission to fly a drone that must be shown to a police officer if requested.

Paul said there may have been two people flying the drone, but the citation was only issued to the person who was flying the drone when it struck Atticus.

As for the boy, Paul said recent pictures show he is recovering.

"I’m sure there’s going to be some scars but it certainly looks a lot better than it did when it first happened," he said.
 
The pilot is probably on some forum talking about how he is too good to ever have a problem in a public park. That stuff only happens to Dummies, and how stupid drone bans in parks are.....

The city fine is NOTHING compared to what will certainly follow. Lawyers are probably ringing moms phone off the hook wanting to take this personal injury case. It would be a chip shot for even a bad lawyer to get $5000, to $10,000 out of this.
 
The pilot is probably on some forum talking about how he is too good to ever have a problem in a public park. That stuff only happens to Dummies, and how stupid drone bans in parks are.....

The city fine is NOTHING compared to what will certainly follow. Lawyers are probably ringing moms phone off the hook wanting to take this personal injury case. It would be a chip shot for even a bad lawyer to get $5000, to $10,000 out of this.

Oh, you seem to know everything, wow !
 
Oh, you seem to know everything, wow !

I have been known to draw a few conclusions. Since he was flying in a park with children, he obviously felt confident he could fly. AND, I will bet money that there will eventually be a lawsuit that costs the pilot at LEAST $5000.00. People get that for minor dog bites and bar room punches every day.
 
Irresponsible pilot. Poor baby had to take on his stupidity. Any detail what kind of drone he was flying?

I've looked at various news sites and the police Facebook page but it isn't mentioned.

The drone belonged to the teenager's father, which leads me to believe it might not have been a cheap toy. He ran over and picked it up and left before the police could get there, so they might not even know.
 
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I must have grown up in a different world. I cannot see myself engaging in a law suit with an 18 year old in this scenario.

From a more pragmatic approach, I bet attorneys are not standing in line to take this case as most 18 year olds have little or no assets. A $10m judgement does no good if the person has zero dollars in assets.
 
I must have grown up in a different world. I cannot see myself engaging in a law suit with an 18 year old in this scenario.

From a more pragmatic approach, I bet attorneys are not standing in line to take this case as most 18 year olds have little or no assets. A $10m judgement does no good if the person has zero dollars in assets.
What if this were your child and needed plastic surgery later on? You would just pay the $10,000 out of your own pocket?
 
I must have grown up in a different world. I cannot see myself engaging in a law suit with an 18 year old in this scenario.

From a more pragmatic approach, I bet attorneys are not standing in line to take this case as most 18 year olds have little or no assets. A $10m judgement does no good if the person has zero dollars in assets.
A lawsuit doesn't mean they have to pursue millions of dollars. You can't walk into an emergency room these days for less than about $8,000. Even if the parents had insurance that covered some of that they'll be on the hook for several hundred dollars in deductibles.

If I were the 19-year-old (not 18), I would be making offers to cover those expenses to head off any lawsuit.

And if the drone belonged to the man's father, he could have some culpability, too.
 
If I were the 19-year-old (not 18), I would be making offers to cover those expenses to head off any lawsuit.
Not to get too technical but it is not that easy. A payment with nothing else won't end liability. The person would need to obtain an injury release to do that. It is the child that has the claim and a child cannot sign a release. The best that a "release" would do is to make the parents responsible for any claim the child may have at a later date. This would tend to end the claim but again, legal paperwork would need to be filled out. Otherwise a payment does not prevent anything.

Just to let people know... lacking any scar, this could easily be a $5000 settlement. If there is a scar, it could be around $10,000 - $20,000.

Not a good idea to fly around other people.

People complain about drones being banned in city parks. Want to know why those bans are in place?
 
The city's fine was minimal. I predict an eventual lawsuit will be more costly.

Davenport man fined $160 for flying drone that hit baby in the face

A 19-year-old Davenport, Iowa, man has been issued a civil citation for flying a drone that struck and injured a 1-year-old last month.

Cassandra Roberts took her 1-year-old son Atticus to Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf, Iowa, on July 24, where he was struck in the face with a drone while sitting on the swings.

The boy had cuts on his face and his mother took him to Trinity Bettendorf Hospital where doctors gave him three stitches on his cheek and two in his lips.

After Atticus was hit, two men flying the drone at nearby soccer fields came over to Roberts and apologized for hitting her son. She was focused on bringing her son to the hospital and did not get their names, Roberts said.

The Bettendorf Police Department wrote on Facebook Monday that the individuals had been identified.

One of them, who was piloting the drone when it struck Atticus, will pay a $160 fine, including a $75 civil penalty to the city of Bettendorf and $85 in court costs, police said.

636689046391716668-37751906-2055810661104537-2511130587557789696-n.jpg

One-year-old Atticus was struck by a drone while playing in Bettendorf's Crow Creek Park with his mother on July 24. Police have fined a 19-year-old Davenport man $160 for flying the drone in a city park without permission. (Photo: Special to the Register)


A Bettendorf ordinance prohibits flying a drone in a city park without permission, said Bettendorf Police Capt. Justin Paul.

Paul said the permission process runs through the city's Parks and Recreation director, who can give written permission to fly a drone that must be shown to a police officer if requested.

Paul said there may have been two people flying the drone, but the citation was only issued to the person who was flying the drone when it struck Atticus.

As for the boy, Paul said recent pictures show he is recovering.

"I’m sure there’s going to be some scars but it certainly looks a lot better than it did when it first happened," he said.
Thanx for the post sir...be safe, fly smart
 
I must have grown up in a different world. I cannot see myself engaging in a law suit with an 18 year old in this scenario.

From a more pragmatic approach, I bet attorneys are not standing in line to take this case as most 18 year olds have little or no assets. A $10m judgement does no good if the person has zero dollars in assets.
While that may be true that he has no assets, a big judgement against him will surely hound him for life...credit , etc
 
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While that may be true that he has no assets, a big judgement against him will surely hound him for life...credit , etc

I wouldn’t want to hound some 18 yo kid for life because of this little accident. That’s just me. I have kids, I would like to think that i would be understanding if this happened to my son. Kids are really resilient.

Lots of 18 yo kids make bad decisions.
 
I wouldn’t want to hound some 18 yo kid for life because of this little accident. That’s just me. I have kids, I would like to think that i would be understanding if this happened to my son. Kids are really resilient.

Lots of 18 yo kids make bad decisions.
Yes, but thanks to natural selection, some make dumb mistakes, a lot are in prison. A lack of money is no reason to release him of liability. He will not get tax returns, lottery winnings, lawsuit income, and probably no loans until any judgement is paid in full. I like to think of it as a form of punishment. More humane than caning.
Mistakes need to be paid for. It reminds you to not be reckless in the future. Age or income is not a factor.
 
Yes, but thanks to natural selection, some make dumb mistakes, a lot are in prison. A lack of money is no reason to release him of liability. He will not get tax returns, lottery winnings, lawsuit income, and probably no loans until any judgement is paid in full. I like to think of it as a form of punishment. More humane than caning.
Mistakes need to be paid for. It reminds you to not be reckless in the future. Age or income is not a factor.
That's a fact Jack...well said...be safe, fly smart
 
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