Can Anyone Access Security Camera Footage After An Accident In Illinois?

 Posted on February 07, 2020 in Car Accidents

Getting into an accident can be a scary experience, and the aftermath can become complicated. If you have been injured in an accident that was caused by another person’s negligence, you will want to gather all of the evidence necessary to help your personal injury claim with their insurance carrier. This can include obtaining video footage from security cameras that may have caught the incident through their lenses. However, obtaining this evidence is not always straightforward.

What are the chances a crash was caught on camera?

Accidents happen on all types of roadways, near businesses, and near homes. If an accident happens near any establishment, there is a good chance that it was caught on camera. More and more, we are finding that cameras are being used for various reasons.

Businesses have security cameras inside and outside that may capture an accident on the roadway or in a parking lot. Private homes also have security cameras. This is certainly the case with the affordability and popularity of doorbell cameras that often capture incidents on the street in front of a home.

Are there other types of cameras that could have seen the incident?

There are other types of cameras that could be useful for evidence in a car accident case. Most police vehicles have dash cams that capture footage after an officer arrives on the scene. This, along with body cam footage, could provide valuable evidence and capture statements of the at-fault driver.

Traffic cameras are also frequently used to monitor driving behavior at intersections, and they frequently capture crash footage.

Will an attorney be able to help gather this footage?

Whether or not you can obtain this footage is important, and you are much more likely to be successful with the help of a skilled Springfield car accident attorney. Businesses and homeowners are under no obligation to turn over their camera footage to you. An attorney may work through the court system to serve them with a subpoena to force them to hand over the evidence.

For other types of cameras, such as traffic cams and police cameras, your attorney will have to work through the agencies to obtain the footage. Government agencies are notoriously difficult when it comes to obtaining evidence, but a skilled attorney will be used their tactics.

In all cases when camera footage is needed to prove liability, you need to act quickly. Most video systems do not store video for longer than a few days at a time due to space requirements on their system or server. Your attorney needs to act quickly to keep these various businesses, homeowners, or agencies from deleting the data.

What will the video footage help with?

Car accident claims are all about proving liability. The at-fault driver may claim that they did not actually cause the incident. They could even blame you for causing the crash. The video footage could end up being an invaluable resource to prove your side of events. It is hard to argue with the evidence when it is on video. A video could result in the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier offering a fair settlement. If they still refuse to do so, video footage could be a powerful tool to use in a jury trial if you have to file a personal injury lawsuit.