I have seen plenty of accident cases where two people describe the same few seconds in completely different ways. One driver says the light was green. The other says it was red. A pedestrian says she was already in the crosswalk. The driver says he never saw her.
When that happens, an independent witness can be extremely helpful. Sometimes that witness is a camera.
Surveillance footage, dashcam video and commercial-vehicle cameras can provide information that never appears in the police report. The challenge is figuring out where the video is—and doing it before the recording is gone.
Where should you look for video after a crash?
Start by looking at the area around the collision. In Chicago and the suburbs, cameras are everywhere, but they are not always obvious. Potential sources include:
- Gas stations, restaurants, stores, banks and office buildings.
- Homes with doorbell cameras or exterior security systems.
- Apartment and condominium buildings.
- Parking lots and garages.
- Dashcams in nearby vehicles.
- Rideshare and delivery vehicles.
- Buses, semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles with onboard camera systems.
The camera does not need to capture the impact
A useful recording does not have to look like a television replay of the entire accident. A camera may show a vehicle approaching the intersection, a traffic signal, a pedestrian entering a crosswalk, lane movement, braking or where the vehicles were immediately before impact.
Sometimes a recording proves only one fact. That one fact can still be important.
How long is surveillance footage kept?
There is no universal answer. A small business, apartment building, home security system and commercial fleet may all have different equipment and retention settings.
That is why I would not assume that footage available today will still be there weeks or months from now. When video may matter, identifying the source early gives us a better chance of determining whether it still exists and what steps are appropriate to preserve it.
What can you do at the scene?
First, take care of yourself. If you are injured, get medical attention. Nobody needs to become an amateur accident investigator while hurt on the side of the road.
But if you are physically able, pay attention to the surroundings. Are there businesses nearby? Cameras on a building? Doorbell cameras on homes? A parking garage? Did somebody stop and say they saw the crash? Was a delivery truck, rideshare vehicle or bus nearby?
Even a few photographs of the surrounding area can later help identify potential camera locations.
Finding a camera is not the same as obtaining the footage
A private business or property owner does not necessarily have to hand over surveillance footage simply because someone asks. The right way to request or preserve video depends on the circumstances.
In a serious injury case, that may mean identifying who controls the footage, sending an appropriate preservation request or, once litigation is underway, pursuing the evidence through discovery.
What if the crash report puts you at fault?
This is one reason independent evidence can be so important. A police report contains the responding officer's initial investigation. If surveillance video, dashcam footage, photographs, witnesses or physical evidence show something different, that information deserves to be evaluated.
Do not assume the search for evidence ends because the initial paperwork contains a version of events you disagree with.
Truck and commercial-vehicle crashes can involve even more video
If a semi-truck, delivery vehicle, bus or other commercial vehicle was involved, the search may extend beyond nearby businesses and homes. The commercial vehicle itself may have forward-facing or inward-facing cameras, and the company may control the footage.
That is another reason trucking cases require a broader preservation strategy than the typical passenger-car claim.
Do not let the insurance investigation outrun the evidence investigation
An insurance company may spend weeks deciding who it thinks is responsible. Meanwhile, a surveillance system may overwrite the recording that could have answered the question.
For a serious Illinois car accident, the police report may be the first document everyone reads. It should not be the last place anyone looks.
Think your Chicago-area crash may have been caught on camera?
If you were injured in an Illinois car accident and believe surveillance video, dashcam footage or commercial-vehicle camera footage may exist, contact Duran Law Offices at 312-300-0473 for a free consultation. We can investigate potential sources of video and determine what steps may be appropriate to preserve relevant evidence.