You’ve heard of whiplash from car wrecks, but how about drone injuries?

As the number of drones in operation grows exponentially, they are generating new business for lawyers who want to represent parties injured in drone accidents.

Geoff McDonald & Associates, a Richmond area law firm, is branching out into drone law to protect parties injured by inexperienced drone operators. One of its associates has completed advanced course work in how to operate unmanned aerial vehicles.

The law firm isn’t the first to get into drone accident liability law. It’s been a fast-growing area for at least a couple of years. “It’s an enormous new revenue stream,” says Brandt Madsen, a lawyer with Smith Amundsen in Chicago.

The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing new regulations for drones. Even toy drones have long-distance capabilities and can fly as high as 1,000 feet and could be in the path of commercial airliners. Passenger jets have crashed after geese the size of a small drone got sucked into an engine.

What’s more, Amazon, which has two fulfillment centers south of Richmond, is planning Amazon Prime Air, a white, blue and yellow drone that can deliver packages to your back yard in as little as 30 minutes.

The Amazon drone can fly 15 miles at speeds up to 55 mph. It will have an expected altitude of 400 feet – low enough to avoid aircraft yet high enough to not endanger pedestrians.