With advanced mobile phones, surveillance and property management cameras and 24-hour news reporting, video evidence is a significant part of many truck accident investigations. Securing video evidence must be a priority for truck accident attorneys when responding to a new case.
VIDEO EVIDENCE IS EVERYWHERE
With the omnipresence of video recording devices in modern society, there are many areas in which truck accident lawyers should be seeking to preserve and obtain video evidence. The following are just a few suggestions when securing video evidence.
- Video footage from any truck-mounted safety cameras
- Video footage that the driver, trucking company, insurance company representative or other stakeholder might have taken of the scene or of events leading up to, during or following the truck crash
- Police video footage (from in-car cameras, body-mounted cameras and shot by traffic accident investigators)
- Video footage shot by witnesses and passers-by, perhaps even shared via social media (like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube).
LETTERS FOR SECURING VIDEO EVIDENCE
At Whiting Law Group, a key step in the early stages of our truck accident investigation process is to serve what are called letters of spoliation — formal requests for the defendants to secure and preserve evidence relating to the truck accident. We send these letters to the truck driver, the trucking company and other parties involved in the crash or the litigation. It is very important to provide as detailed and comprehensive a list as possible so that all the relevant evidence can be secured for review by our emergency response truck accident investigation team.
The value of video evidence in the courtroom has long been established. It is therefore incumbent on truck accident lawyers to do everything in their power to locate, secure and preserve that evidence. The success of the case might just rest up on that.