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In the moments after an accident, the world can feel a little blurry. Whether you were in a collision on I-4 near Winter Park, experienced a fall on a wet floor, or were hurt at a local business, the chaos and confusion can make it hard to recall every detail.
Video evidence is a clear, objective record of what happened, and it can be a game-changer. These days, video evidence from dashcams, security systems, and even smartphones is more common than ever. This footage can provide an unvarnished view of the events that led to your injury. For those of us who have spent decades helping injured people in Central Florida, our personal injury attorneys have seen firsthand how crucial this type of evidence can be. It has the power to either strongly support your claim or, if used against you, weaken it.
How Video Footage Can Build a Strong Personal Injury Claim
In Florida, a personal injury case often hinges on proving that another person or business was negligent. Proving negligence means showing they owed you a duty of care, they breached that duty, and that breach directly caused your injuries. Video evidence can make a case far more compelling to an insurance company or a jury.
For instance, consider a car accident on Fairbanks Avenue. A witness might recall seeing the other driver run a red light, but video from a nearby traffic camera or another driver’s dashcam can show it with absolute certainty. It takes a claim from a “he said, she said” argument to something much more definitive. The same applies to premises liability cases. If you were injured in a slip and fall at a store, security footage can capture a store employee failing to clean up a spill or place a warning sign, proving negligence in a way that words alone cannot. We have seen this kind of evidence make a huge difference in our ability to collect money damages for our clients.
The Two Sides of Video Evidence in Florida Law
Video evidence isn’t just for your benefit. The other side may also use any available footage to challenge your claim. Insurance companies and defense attorneys often use video to try to discredit an injured person’s account of events or to suggest their injuries aren’t as severe as they claim.
Even so, pain and physical limitations can fluctuate. What you do on a good day may not be possible on a bad one. But the video doesn’t consistently demonstrate a complete picture, and the other side can use it to paint an inaccurate depiction of your injuries. The important thing is to be truthful about your injuries and limitations from the very beginning.
Admissibility and Authentication in Florida Courts
For any video evidence to be used in a Florida court, it must meet specific legal requirements as outlined in Florida Statutes 90.901, which include:
- Relevance: The video must be directly related to the facts of your case. A clip of a driver swerving before a crash is relevant; a video of them at a different time is not
- Authenticity: Your attorney must be able to prove that the video is a genuine, unaltered recording of the event. Authentication can be done through witness testimony, often from the person who recorded the footage or managed the security system, or through expert analysis of the file’s data.
According to Florida law, attorneys must show that the video is a fair and accurate representation of what it claims to depict. If the authenticity of a video is questioned, a judge may not allow it to be shown at all. For this reason it is essential to work with a legal team that understands the rules of evidence and how to handle them correctly
Practical Steps to Protect Your Case
If you were injured and believe there might be video evidence of the incident, acting quickly is vital. Security footage is often erased or overwritten in a matter of days or weeks. Practical steps include:
- Identify Potential Sources: Think about the location of your accident. Were there nearby businesses, traffic cameras, or homes with security systems like Ring or Nest? Did anyone on the scene have a dashcam? In the Winter Park area, many businesses and homes are equipped with security systems, so it’s a good place to start
- Preserve Your Own Footage: If you have video on your smartphone or dashcam, do not alter or delete it. Save a copy of the original file and its metadata to a secure location, like an external hard drive or cloud storage
- Allow an Attorney to Handle Third Parties: Do not try to get the footage from a business or a third party yourself. A personal injury attorney can send a “spoliation” letter or “preservation notice” to the person or company that owns the video. A spoliation letter is a formal legal notice that requires them to preserve the evidence for your case. It is an essential and often necessary step to prevent valuable footage from being accidentally or intentionally destroyed
How We Can Help with Your Florida Injury Case
A compassionate legal team understands the challenges you face after an injury. Our legal team knows that the last thing you need is another burden, especially one as technical as handling video evidence. We are here to manage every detail of your case, allowing you to focus on your health and recovery.
At Cullen & Hemphill, PLC, we pride ourselves on being accessible to our clients. We work hard to lower the traditional barriers between attorneys and the people we serve. We believe you should have direct access to your lawyer and clear communication about your case every step of the way. When you work with us, you can trust that we will be open and honest about the process and keep you informed.
If you have been injured in the Winter Park area or anywhere in Central Florida, and you believe video evidence exists, we encourage you to contact us. We offer a no-cost, no-obligation consultation to discuss your situation and explain how we can help. We only get paid if we successfully secure a recovery for you. To get started, please call us today at 407-565-7386.
