How To Get Video Footage of Your Tennessee Car Accident
An experienced Nashville lawyer can help you fight for compensation
If you were involved in a car accident in Tennessee, it can be difficult to recover financial compensation for the injuries you suffered. One reason is that the negligent driver who caused your crash may deny doing anything wrong. This puts you in the position of having to prove that negligence caused your accident.
A strong case for compensation is built on evidence. And one of the most important pieces of evidence you can have is video of your crash. Video cameras are very common now. If you were involved in a car crash at a busy intersection or stretch of highway, there’s a good chance that it was captured on video.
But who was taking this video? What’s the process for getting a copy? How can you know if video of your accident even exists? It can all get pretty complicated. That’s when you need an experienced Nashville car accident lawyer.
Sources of car accident video footage
It’s possible there may have been one or even several cameras recording at the time of your crash. Potential sources of video include:
- Security cameras from nearby businesses or private residences
- Police cameras, including dash cams or body cameras used by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department or Tennessee Highway Patrol
- Dash cam footage recorded in cars that were either involved in the crash or in the vicinity
- Cellphone video recorded by a passenger or witness
How can I get a copy of the accident video?
Once you become aware of a source that may have captured video of the accident, you can request a copy. How you approach this depends on whether the video was taken by police, a government agency, business, or individual.
If your accident may have been captured by a security camera at a business, you can contact the owner and ask for a copy. The same applies to video taken by individuals, either with a cell phone or a home security camera.
How long do I have to request a copy of video footage?
There’s no specific timeline that needs to be followed. But the short answer is that you should request video as soon as you can. That’s mostly because there’s a good chance the video you need will be deleted if you wait too long. Video taken by security cameras may be erased every 30 days or even sooner. Quick action from an experienced legal professional can make a big difference. That’s just one reason why it’s important to get legal advice as soon as possible following a car accident.
How a lawyer can help
Identifying and obtaining video footage of your car accident is not a simple process. You could try to do it yourself. But if you were injured in the accident, your mobility may be limited for some time. You may also be dealing with mounting medical bills and calls with insurance adjusters who are handling your claim.
An experienced car accident lawyer can:
- Quickly identify security cameras that may have captured your crash
- Contact witnesses and ask about other potential sources of video
- File a formal request for video footage
- Get a court order for access to certain video footage
- Gather other evidence that supports your claim
- Carefully review accident reports and medical records
Lawyers understand the process of recovering video of accidents. They know how to deal with police, businesses and individuals to respectfully request copies of video footage. An attorney can then review the video of your accident and use it to establish that the other driver was negligent.
How video can help your case
Insurance companies aren’t on your side after a car accident. Their goal is to find ways to minimize compensation – that helps them boost profits. One of the tactics they often use is to blame you for being partially responsible for a collision.
Under Tennessee’s modified comparative negligence system, being found partially at fault for causing an accident can affect the amount of compensation you are able to recover. For example, a jury awards you $100,000 for injuries suffered in an accident, but finds that you were 20% responsible for what happened. Your recovery will be reduced by 20%, meaning your actual recovery would be $80,000.
Insurance companies are very familiar with how the system works and try to use it to their advantage by putting a lot of the blame on you.
But the existence of video of the accident can make that more difficult. Video taken just before a crash may show the other driver running a red light or making a reckless lane change on the highway. It can even be used to estimate how fast a vehicle was going.
Your attorney can use video and other evidence to build a convincing case that the other driver was responsible for the crash, not you.
Contact us today for your free consultation
Attorney Eric Beasley has been fighting for the injured in Middle Tennessee for decades and knows where to look for video evidence that can support your claim. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, The Law Office of Eric Beasley is ready to help.
Attorney Beasley will fight for the compensation you deserve. This includes compensation for all current and future medical expenses related to your injuries, lost wages if you couldn’t work, and other damages such as pain and suffering. He will negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf to reach a settlement that meets your needs. If a settlement can’t be reached, he’ll be ready to fight for you in court.
If you were hurt in a car accident, learn more about a car accident lawyer can help. Contact us to schedule a free consultation. We have offices in Goodlettsville and Nashville.
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