Being able to use surveillance footage in your New York City personal injury claim helps meet the standard of proof and establish the defendant’s liability. Plaintiffs must preserve and obtain surveillance footage to be able to use it in their lawsuits, and our attorneys can collect any relevant footage on your behalf.
If there is good surveillance footage of your recent accident, you should use it. Let us request the footage from the owner by sending a preservation letter if necessary. We can watch the video footage carefully, looking for evidence of the incident’s cause and the defendant’s negligence. Footage may align perfectly with your account of the accident and other eyewitnesses’ testimony, further strengthening your case. While having surveillance footage in New York City injury claims is common, it’s not guaranteed, and our lawyers can work hard to prove your case with other evidence.
Call our New York City personal injury lawyers at (718) 841-0083 to discuss your case for free with The Carrion Law Firm today.
Can You Use Surveillance Footage in Your NYC Injury Claim?
Surveillance footage is some of the strongest evidence in a personal injury claim in New York City. You may use it to prove that the defendant was not only present at the scene but also directly caused the accident and injured you. You may use footage from other sources, too, such as dashboard cameras and doorbell cameras.
After retrieving and reviewing surveillance footage, we can see whether or not it’s useful for your case. Blurry footage may not accurately capture a car accident or slip and fall, and the same is true for unclear footage due to poor lighting.
Because of the prevalence of surveillance cameras throughout New York City, there’s a good chance footage of your accident exists and can be used in your personal injury claim.
You should certainly use relevant video footage in your compensation claim, as it may compel a fast and fair settlement from the defense.
How Can You Get Surveillance Footage for Your Personal Injury Claim?
You must act fast to get surveillance footage for your personal injury claim. Footage may be deleted within days or even sooner, so do not wait to contact us about preserving videos for your lawsuit.
Some property owners willingly provide footage of an accident that was coincidentally caught on their security cameras. Tell us precisely where the incident occurred, and we can contact the owners of nearby apartment buildings and businesses with cameras pointed in that direction.
When surveillance cameras are owned by the negligent party, like in a slip and fall case, retrieving footage can be harder. We may have to write and send a preservation letter warning the owner against deleting the footage and requiring it to be preserved for your lawsuit. We may also motion the court to force the owner to preserve and provide footage if they give us any trouble.
Allow us to handle the hassle of obtaining surveillance footage for use in your New York City personal injury lawsuit, and contact us to initiate the process as soon as possible.
We can even see if eyewitnesses happened to film the crash or the aftermath on their phones when we interview them and get their statements.
Why Should You Use Surveillance Footage in Your NYC Injury Claim?
Surveillance footage can be concrete proof of an accident’s chain of events. It can wholly support your testimony and that of other eyewitnesses, as well as demonstrate exactly how the defendant was negligent.
Video footage often gives jurors the context and visual proof they need to determine that the defendant is more than likely liable for the plaintiff’s damages. It can corroborate the sequence of events we present when filing your claim, as well as the one you testify to during a trial.
Because video footage is so compelling, defendants often want to settle to avoid being faced with it at trial.
We may use surveillance footage as leverage to get a much better out-of-court settlement in New York City. Even without many witness statements or much else, surveillance footage can be indisputable evidence of what occurred.
Don’t underestimate the importance of surveillance footage in your claim, and have our Queens personal injury lawyers preserve it on your behalf right away.
What if You Can’t Use Footage to Prove Your Personal Injury Case?
Although New York City is filled with surveillance systems and cameras, not all footage is usable. Footage may be too blurry or grainy to determine exactly what is happening, or it might not exist altogether. If you can’t use video footage to prove your personal injury case, don’t panic. Let our lawyers collect other evidence that may be just as compelling to the jury when viewed collectively.
Use Eyewitness Testimony
If there is absolutely no footage, eyewitness testimony is the next best thing. Please let us know if you noticed anyone else present during the incident and if you obtained their names or contact information. If you did not, tell us if you called the police, and we can see if police officers spoke to eyewitnesses.
You’re an eyewitness, too. Whether or not we have surveillance footage, we may have you testify about the accident, the defendant’s negligence, and your injuries. Your testimony not only helps us prove fault, but also helps establish your damages due to negligence.
Retrieve Deleted Footage
Suppose surveillance footage got overwritten or deleted before you could retrieve it, which sometimes happens because the owner is unaware of its relevance to a recent accident. Other times, a liable party who owns surveillance footage might intentionally delete it. Retrieving deleted video footage is sometimes possible, so you may still get and use video footage, even if it gets deleted.
We Can Help with Your NYC Personal Injury Case Today
Call (718) 841-0083 for a free case evaluation from The Carrion Law Firm’s Long Island, NY personal injury lawyers.