After gassing up your car, you pull into a parking space and go into the adjacent convenience store to purchase some snacks. When you return to your car, you notice a large dent, and scratches that weren't there before. You're pretty sure someone hit your car while you were in the store, and then took off without leaving a note.
After composing yourself, you look around in vain for any witnesses, and then notice that both the convenience store and the gas station have surveillance cameras that could have captured the hit and run incident. And it looks like there’s a red-light camera at the intersection—maybe it recorded some video that could help, too.
You return to the convenience store and ask the clerk if you can obtain a copy of the surveillance video. She tells you she doesn't know, and that you’ll have to contact the store manager. You’re given a similar response by the clerk at the gas station.
When you contact these managers, they tell you that you’ll have to take the matter up with "corporate," and you're given the numbers of their respective home offices. One company tells you that it doesn’t give out copies of its surveillance videos unless they’re served with a subpoena. The other company advises you that you need to make a formal written request on a form it will provide to you, and that you should expect to receive a response to your request within 6 to 8 weeks.
Meanwhile, after checking online you can’t even figure out who you’re supposed to talk to about getting the red-light camera footage.
How Do I Get Private Surveillance Video After a Car Accident?
When you’re trying to track down surveillance video it can be tricky to know where to start, and even trickier to work your way through all of the legal and bureaucratic hassles.
The first thing to know is that private individuals and businesses aren’t required to give you their video footage just because you ask for it. It’s their property, even if the footage shows things that happened on public streets and sidewalks.
Sometimes you might be able to get footage through a court order—but that isn’t always possible and will usually be the most time-consuming approach.
So, what are your options?
Start by Asking Nicely
Your best bet is to ask for the business’s help. Explain what happened, and why you want the surveillance footage. Are you trying to identify a hit-and-run driver? Trying to prove that you’re telling the truth about how an accident happened? The business’s owner or manager may be sympathetic and willing to do what they can for you. But remember that:
- It’s important to act quickly. Many companies regularly delete their footage, keeping it for as little as a few days.
- It could take time. At a larger business or chain store, the person who can help you might not work onsite—you may have to follow up with someone at corporate headquarters or a regional office. And the larger the business, the more likely it is that the process will involve multiple people and a lot of paperwork.
- Be persistent. Don’t confuse being polite with being passive. You may have to follow up to find the right people to talk to, or to keep the process moving. You should take notes and save any correspondence, so you can keep track of where things stand.
File a Police Report
It’s a good idea to file a police report after any car accident that results in injuries or property damage. When you file the report, you can let the police know about surveillance cameras in the area, and ask for a copy of any footage they obtain.
How much work the police put in on your case could depend on the facts and severity of the accident. It’s a crime to drive away from the scene, so the police are more likely to seek video of a hit-and-run than of an accident where two drivers disagree about who had the right-of-way.
If the police do seek out surveillance footage, they won’t reach for search warrants or subpoenas—they’ll just ask for the footage the same way you would. But a request from the police may seem more official than a request from a private citizen investigating their own accident. And local businesses may also want to cooperate out of a sense of civic duty or to maintain a good relationship with the local department.
Remember, too, that the police could know a lot more than you about surveillance cameras in the area. You can ask them if they think your accident might have been recorded by a camera you didn’t notice.
Can You Get Private Security Camera Footage Using a Subpoena?
If you file a lawsuit against the other driver then you might be able to get security camera footage using a subpoena. A subpoena is a document issued by a court that can order someone to give testimony or to turn over records—including electronic records like video recordings.
Plaintiffs and defendants in lawsuits frequently use subpoenas to get information and records from each other, but they can also be served on “third parties,” meaning people and businesses that aren’t part of the case. You don’t have to use a subpoena just because a lawsuit has been filed—you can still ask a business to help voluntarily.
The subpoena process generally involves:
- Picking up or downloading the right forms from the court where you’ve filed your lawsuit.
- Filling out the subpoena. You should be as specific as possible about the video you’re looking for, including the location of the camera and the timeframe. You should also address the subpoena to the person you think has the authority to release the video.
- Submitting your subpoena to the clerk of the court that’s handling your case. Timing-wise, when you do this depends on the court. For example, in federal court the clerk signs blank subpoenas and then the parties fill them out. In Nevada small claims court you fill out the subpoena first and then the clerk signs or stamps it. In New York State you submit subpoenas to the clerk and they’re then signed by the judge.
- Serving your subpoena. The rules for this are set by each court, but in general a subpoena has to be delivered in person by someone who is not a party to the lawsuit. Part of a civil attorney’s job is arranging to have subpoenas served.
Once your subpoena has been served, the person or business might send a copy of the video to the court (not directly to you). They might also object by arguing that they need more time, or that they shouldn’t have to comply with the subpoena at all because it would be too expensive or too much of a burden. You would then have an opportunity to respond.
There are some obvious drawbacks to this approach. First, if you need the footage to identify a hit-and-run driver then you run into a Catch-22. A court won’t issue a subpoena for the footage unless you’ve filed a lawsuit. But you may not know who to sue until after you’ve seen the footage.
Second, even if you know the identity of the other driver, and just want to use subpoenas to gather evidence, you’ll still have to decide if the time, hassle and expense of a lawsuit is worth it. If you’re considering suing the person who caused the accident, you should consult with a local attorney to discuss your options.
Can I Get Traffic Camera Footage After a Car Accident?
Your accident may have also been recorded by traffic cameras owned by a state or local government. Unlike private businesses, a government agency may have a legal obligation to turn over video to members of the public. But locating and requesting that video can be complicated.
First, you’ll need to figure out which government agency owns the camera. On a local street, this could be the municipal government or police department. On a highway or interstate, it could be the state toll authority or state department of transportation.
If you file a police report, the responding department may be able to tell you which agency operates nearby cameras, and they might collect the footage themselves. A local attorney might also be able to assist you.
Once you know who to contact, you can ask if they have any footage from the camera you’re interested in. Many agencies use live traffic camera footage but don’t record it. For example, the New York City Department of Transportation, the California Department of Transportation, and agencies in the Houston area all provide live feeds but don’t make recordings.
Other agencies do record footage and make it available. For example:
- The New Jersey Department of Transportation retains traffic camera footage for seven days and will send it to you for a fee.
- The Iowa Department of Transportation also retains traffic camera footage for seven days and makes it available through an online request form.
- The Denver Police Department (Colorado) retains surveillance video of certain city streets for 30 days. The footage can be requested, for a fee, on the city’s website.
Agencies that store video recordings are sometimes concerned about being swamped with requests for footage. So they don’t always say on their websites that it’s possible to ask for traffic camera footage, even if they’ll give it to you if you ask. Calling or visiting in person may be the best way to learn if video exists and, if so, what procedure you can follow to get a copy.
How Can Video Footage Be Used In a Car Accident Case?
In addition to helping identify a driver who leaves the scene of an accident, surveillance footage can be important to both the insurance claim process and a car accident lawsuit.
Surveillance footage can be used by insurance companies. Any video of the accident will probably be viewed by the car insurance company (yours and the other driver’s) as part of their claim investigations. Insurance companies will want to see the video to guard against insurance fraud and to assess your claim. They can use the video as part of their effort to confirm what happened, who or what caused the accident, the extent of damages and the severity of any injuries.
The video might be used in a lawsuit. If you proceed with a lawsuit, a judge will have to decide if video of the accident should be admitted in court. That mostly depends on whether the video is legally relevant—that is, does it show something that would help a jury resolve a significant factual dispute in the case?
That means you—and your attorney, if you hire one to make your case in court—should be able to explain why the video is important. For example:
- If the person is denying that they were the one who hit your vehicle, does the video include details—like a license plate number or the car’s make and model—that help show they did?
- If you were involved in a traffic accident (not a hit-and-run), does the video help show that the other person was responsible? For example, does it show them running a red light or driving recklessly?
- Is the video consistent with what you told the police and your insurance company? Does it contradict statements made by the person who hit your vehicle?
At a trial you’ll also need to make sure that the video can be authenticated—in other words, you have to be able to show that the video is what you say it is. That could involve getting a written certification from the agency or company that created the video, or having someone testify about where the footage came from and what it shows.
Getting Help With Your Car Accident Case
Whether you’ve suffered a hit-and-run or another kind of auto collision, make sure you know what to do after a car accident. If your situation is straightforward you may want to handle the process yourself. But for complex claims—for example, if video evidence could be crucial, or you’re considering a lawsuit—it can be extremely helpful to have an experienced attorney working on your behalf. Learn more about how an attorney can help with your car accident claim.
