Surveillance footage can help your car accident case in more ways than one, and our attorneys can obtain this useful evidence on your behalf while preparing your compensation claim.
Surveillance footage can show the defendant’s negligent driving and direction of travel, help us calculate the speed of all involved vehicles, undermine comparative fault arguments from a negligent driver that you were also negligent, corroborate your injuries sustained at the scene, and even help us identify the at-fault driver after a hit and run car accident. Footage may come from many different sources, from businesses with security cameras to nearby residences with doorbell cameras.
Get the free case assessment you need from our New York car accident lawyers by calling Basch, Keegan & Spada at (845) 303-2748.
What Are the Different Ways Surveillance Footage Can Help Your Car Accident Case?
Surveillance footage can be extremely valuable evidence in a car accident case, and our lawyers can investigate whether there is any footage from your recent accident in New York.
Prove the Defendant’s Negligence
Surveillance footage of a car accident might capture a negligent driver speeding, running a stop sign or red light, changing lanes without using their turn signal, or otherwise driving recklessly in the moments preceding the accident.
In addition to showing that the defendant was negligent, video footage can also show that the other driver’s negligence directly caused the accident by capturing the moments before, during, and after the collision.
Calculate Vehicle Speed
Surveillance footage of a collision helps our New York car accident lawyers estimate the speed that each vehicle was traveling at the time of impact. This can speak to the other driver’s negligence and confirm that they were driving far over the speed limit.
Undermine Comparative Fault Claims
Negligent drivers often try to shift some of the blame off of themselves and onto victims. New York’s pure comparative fault rule allows plaintiffs who share fault to pursue compensation, but limits their recoveries to damages attributed to the defendant’s negligence, not their own.
If the other driver argues you were also negligent and they shouldn’t have to cover all of your damages, our lawyers may obtain video footage that shows you were driving within the speed limit, didn’t make any sudden or reckless maneuvers, and were following all traffic laws at the time of the accident.
Footage can directly refute comparative fault arguments and help ensure a full financial recovery.
Corroborate Injuries
Surveillance footage may capture the fallout of an accident and confirm that the victim sustained injuries at the scene. While surveillance footage cannot show the exact extent of injuries like medical records can, it can help us show that you sustained injuries during a car accident and did not walk away from the accident unscathed.
Identify Drivers After Hit and Runs
If you are the victim of a hit and run car accident in New York, surveillance footage of the other car helps us identify the driver who fled. Footage might contain identifying information about their car, such as its make, model, and license plate number, as well as the negligent driver, such as their face.
Video footage can place the defendant at the scene and show they were involved in an accident, even if they fled before police officers could arrive or refused to exchange information with you.
Where Can You Find Surveillance Footage to Help Your Car Accident Case in New York?
We can contact all potential sources of surveillance footage after your accident to request and preserve footage for your future case.
Nearby Businesses
Businesses near the accident location may have outdoor surveillance systems that film and store footage, even if only for a short period. After confirming the exact location of the crash, we can contact business owners in the surrounding area and request access to any security footage they have. The sooner this is done, the better, as business owners might not store surveillance footage for long, especially if they are unaware of its relevance to a car accident case.
Nearby Homes
Residences near the crash site might also have security systems or doorbell cameras that filmed the moments before, during, or after your accident. We can reach out to homeowners immediately to obtain video footage before it is deleted and becomes unavailable for your case.
Dashboard Cameras
Some cars have dashboard cameras that can provide a unique point of view of an accident, especially if a camera is in either of the involved vehicles. If the negligent driver had a dashboard camera in their car, our lawyers send a letter of preservation so that it is not deleted before your case. We can then obtain dashboard camera footage during the discovery stage of your lawsuit to see if it clarifies any aspects in your case.
What Can You Use if You Don’t Have Surveillance Footage to Help Your Car Accident Case?
Surveillance footage is often available in car accident cases, but not always. If you can’t use video footage to help prove your lawsuit, our lawyers can work on securing other evidence that is similarly compelling. Even if you have surveillance footage, you should still couple it with corroborating evidence to strengthen your claim.
Eyewitness Statements
Without surveillance footage, eyewitness testimony may be the next best thing. Our attorneys can interview witnesses to get their perspective on what happened and compare their statements to your recollections, photographs, and the police report.
Photos
If there is no video footage showing the collision, our lawyers may still be able to recreate the accident using photos from the crash site. Photos let us work in reverse to determine the sequence of events for an accident and pinpoint liability.
Get Our Help with Your Car Accident Case in New York
Call the Albany, NY car accident lawyers of Basch, Keegan & Spada at (845) 303-2748 for a free case discussion today.