If a picture is worth a thousand words, video is worth a million. Video can be the best witness for providing corroborative evidence that supports your version of what occurred. Car accident attorneys are utilizing video from dash cams, traffic intersection video and video from businesses in the vicinity of the accident. An experienced car accident attorney knows how to go about getting this evidence and how to properly use it to help maximize your claim.
Principles Of Personal Injury Law
Neither merely becoming injured in a car accident nor opining that the incident was another party’s fault entitles the victim to any compensation. Success in any civil action requires the plaintiff and their personal injury lawyer to demonstrate several crucial principles such as that the accused party executed some form of negligent action, said action precipitated the injury-inducing accident, the plaintiff’s damages are strictly related to injuries sustained during and in the aftermath of the incident and not any other physical injury or biological ailment and the damages sought are also directly related to said injuries.
Modified Comparative Negligence
If proving the preceding principles were not challenging enough, the plaintiff and said individual’s legal team must also attempt to prove that other parties to the incident bared the majority of fault. The State of Texas employs a legal provision known as modified comparative negligence. In some cases, this is also referred to as proportionate responsibility.
This civil law states that the plaintiff can be found no greater than 50 percent liable in any incident for an adjudicating body to reward damages. Should the plaintiff be found 51 percent guilty or more, said party will receive absolutely no compensation. Furthermore, the plaintiff’s compensation can be lowered by the percentage by which they are found guilty. For example, if the plaintiff was ruled 20 percent at fault and sued for $100,000 in damages, they would only receive $80,000 in total remuneration.
The Role Of Dash Cams
Technological recording devices such as dash cams can exercise significant influence over a car accident case. Demonstrating the personal injury principles and proving fault requires that the plaintiff and their personal injury attorney produce a multitude of evidence that indicates wrongdoing on the defendant’s part. In truth, there are few better pieces of evidence than videos. It is difficult to dispute what such recordings reveal.
Many motorists have invested in dash cams for several reasons. Said devices are not astronomically expensive, can often be firmly mounted to the vehicle’s windshield or dashboard and, in certain instances, also record what transpired inside the car’s interior and from behind. Some models might even possess the capacity to stream live videos straight to the internet.
Special Considerations
Before motorists rush out to purchase a dash cam, legal professionals caution that they should stop and consider certain notable factors such as:
Evidence Captured Can Work Against Them
Even in instances where the plaintiff is in the right, video evidence could demonstrate that they assumed more blame that traditional evidence like law enforcement and traffic engineering reports and eyewitness testimony could provide. This is the prototypical example of a potential blessing also proving to be a curse.
Legality
In certain places, mounting a device on your windshield or dashboard might be in violation of driving code. Ergo, consulting with a car accident attorney and law enforcement officials in the motorist’s home territory should be performed in advance of any purchase.
Ask an Experienced Car Accident Attorney
There are many factors that can affect whether video footage should be used in a Texas car accident injury claim and how much value it can provide to the victim.
If you have questions about a car accident for which you want to file a claim or lawsuit, it’s generally best to discuss the details with an experienced Texas car accident lawyer. An attorney can assist you with collecting evidence, evaluating its usefulness to your case, potentially getting it admitted, and using it to effectively back up your argument that someone else was at fault for your accident and your injuries.
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