Video footage comes from a range of sources, including traffic cameras, security cameras, and dashcams. Government agencies can control traffic or surveillance cameras, while private parties can have security cameras on their property or dashcams in their vehicles.
If you recently suffered injuries in a crash, you may wonder how you can obtain the traffic camera video of your car accident. Few pieces of evidence are as valuable as video footage for showing how an accident occurred and revealing critical details about the crash.
An experienced car accident attorney at Truitt Law Offices can help you determine who might have footage of the accident that caused your injuries, how to obtain camera footage, and how to incorporate it into a compelling claim.
Table of Contents
- 1 In What Places Are Traffic Cameras Located in Indiana?
- 2 What Are Alternative Sources of Video of My Car Accident?
- 3 Who Do You Contact to Request the Camera Video of the Car Accident?
- 4 Will a Subpoena Be Necessary to Obtain Traffic Camera Video?
- 5 How Can Traffic Camera Video Help With My Indiana Car Accident Case?
- 6 Could Traffic Camera Footage Negatively Influence My Claim?
- 7 Can an Indiana Car Accident Lawyer Help Me Obtain Traffic Camera Video?
- 8 Contact an Indiana Car Accident Lawyer
In What Places Are Traffic Cameras Located in Indiana?
State and local governments in Indiana install traffic cameras at many locations for different purposes, such as catching speeders, monitoring traffic volume, or identifying road accidents. These cameras might be at locations such as:
- Intersections
- Pedestrian crossings
- Traffic signals
- On/off-ramps
- Toll stations
- Bridges/overpasses
- Busy sections of highways
- Stretches of road with frequent speeding.
What Are Alternative Sources of Video of My Car Accident?
Other sources of footage can also prove helpful to your claim. After all, video provides direct evidence. A few examples of alternative sources of video are:
- Dashcams and body cams – Vehicles involved in a car accident or other vehicles approaching the collision scene may have dashcams that record a crash from different angles. A law enforcement agency may also have video evidence captured by a patrol car’s dashcam or an officer’s body cam.
- Private security cameras – Nearby buildings may have exterior security cameras that capture footage of a car accident.
- Cell phones – Bystanders may have taken cell phone video footage of a car accident, either incidentally while filming something else or deliberately after identifying an impending accident.
Who Do You Contact to Request the Camera Video of the Car Accident?
You may need to contact multiple parties to get camera footage of a car accident, depending on who owns or controls the camera that recorded the crash. For instance, when obtaining traffic camera footage, you may need to request it from the Indiana Department of Transportation, which controls many traffic cameras located on state highways and interstates. However, local law enforcement agencies in cities like Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Huntington, and Warren may control speed, red-light, or security cameras on local streets. Sometimes, municipal traffic departments use traffic cameras to monitor traffic volume.
If you’re looking to obtain security camera footage from a privately owned camera, you must contact the owner to get a copy. If a witness recorded the car accident on their cell phone or their vehicle’s dashcam, you will need to contact that party to obtain a copy of the footage. However, if the opposing party in a car accident lawsuit had a dashcam on their vehicle, you can get their footage through the discovery process during litigation.
Will a Subpoena Be Necessary to Obtain Traffic Camera Video?
Depending on the circumstances, you may need to obtain a subpoena to secure video footage of a car accident. A subpoena is a legal order compelling a person to appear and testify.
For government-owned footage, you may file a public records request to get a copy. However, some agencies may decline to release footage through a public records request, which may require you to get a subpoena to compel the agency to release the footage.
You may also need a subpoena to recover video footage of a car accident from private parties, such as a property owner or a business that owns a security camera that recorded the accident, or a third party that recorded the crash on a dashcam or cell phone.
How Can Traffic Camera Video Help With My Indiana Car Accident Case?
Camera footage of a car accident can provide an objective, direct view of what happened. Video footage that corroborates your description of what happened in the moments leading to an accident can strengthen the credibility of your claim to hold the other driver(s) at fault for causing the crash. Alternatively, you might use camera video to contest the opposing party’s recollection of the accident, showing that certain events did not occur as that party describes them.
Could Traffic Camera Footage Negatively Influence My Claim?
On the other hand, traffic camera footage of the car accident could have adverse effects on your injury claim if the footage refutes your description of the crash. Although you might recall specific details of the crash, video footage may reveal that events unfolded differently, potentially harming your credibility. Camera footage can also hurt your case if it shows that you caused or contributed to the accident through negligent or reckless driving, such as speeding or aggressively changing lanes.
Can an Indiana Car Accident Lawyer Help Me Obtain Traffic Camera Video?
Fortunately, you do not have to recover video footage on your own. Instead, an experienced Indiana car accident attorney at Truitt Law Offices can handle your request for you by:
- Identifying video sources, including government agencies and private parties that may have camera footage of the accident
- Contacting parties with footage to request coverage, including filing public records requests with government traffic or law enforcement departments
- Using the discovery process to pursue footage held by opposing parties in a car accident lawsuit
- Obtaining subpoenas to compel government agencies or third parties to turn over camera footage when they decline to cooperate with informal requests.
A car accident lawyer can also review footage of the crash to determine how it may help them pursue your car accident claim.
Contact an Indiana Car Accident Lawyer
After a car crash in Indiana, surveillance camera or dashcam footage can help you prove your right to financial compensation for your injuries and other losses. Truitt Law Offices has a record of success that goes back 40 years, reflecting our dedication to helping car accident victims seek maximum compensation for the harm they suffer due to another person’s negligence. Contact us today for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer and get the help you need to build a strong, evidence-backed case.
