If you have any reason or cause which leads you to make a claim or try to recover damages, either as the results of a crash or an accident that wasn’t your fault, then it is of utmost important that you collect enough important evidence which you can use to support your claim.
In fact, the need for strong physical evidence which supports your claim either photographs, witness statements, video or even a police report will go a long way to drastically improve your chances of a positive and effective resolution of your personal injury claim.
As time goes on, attorneys have seen a steady increase in the number of victims for accidents who have documented and recorded video and photographs of accidents mainly in their cars, which lead to some form of injury or the other. This doesn’t come as a surprise. As vehicle technology increases in capability and affordability, the possible of an average driver to have access to high-surveillance system gets easier. There are even instances where the system keeps recording and documenting even when the driver parks and the engine is turned off. This is all thanks to continuous improvement in technology.
The craze for dash cam has increased worldwide. In countries where corruption is high in law enforcement leading to untrustworthiness of the system especially in the area of witness testimonies, documented video footage or photographs of the incident will drastically tip the scales in your favour in court.
In the United States, the narrative is different. The legal system is weighed down by this challenge. When there is strong video evidence of the alleged incident or accident or collision, it will help in proving your claims.
The question we ask then is, what is a Dash Cam? The name dash cam is the shorthand name for dashboard-mounted video camera whose function is the recording of video and audio of what the driver sees. There are vehicle dash cams, motorcycle dash cam and even bicycle dash cams. There are some models which can go so far as to record what is going on in the car not just outside. For a step up in price, you can get a dash cam which has GPS coordinates to tell when and where the incident took place and will further help increase your chances of winning your case when it is presented in court.
The footage gotten from dash cams is stored on an SD memory. Dash cams are legal in the US and get be used by private citizens. They can use them in their private vehicles, and it is almost always admissible in a court of law. Although, the flip side to this is, if the dash cam records inside the vehicle, all passengers have to be asked for their consent before the dash cam is turned on. Otherwise, if consent isn’t granted, whatever is said will not be admissible in court. Whether or not it helps your case.
Dash cam evidence can be used in different ways. Police officers can use it to track down offenders or criminals in cases of hit-and-run drivers. Now, the dash cams do not have to be mounted on the car that is involved in the crash but can be mounted on another car or businesses that captures the whole incident. Despite this, it will still be admissible in court. When it is a case of damages i.e. a civil case, having video evidence of the incidence will go a long way in proving who is liable for the incidence. This is necessary because there might arise a dispute by insurance companies or the parties involved in the incidence if it is a case of serious or fatal injuries.
If you feel you are not at fault, but the other parties involved insist that you are, video evidence might be the way out for you. It will help set the record straight. More importantly if you find yourself in court, video evidence will be an influence on the opinions of the jury. This is important because jurors look with suspicions on people who are seeking huge amounts of compensation by exaggerating the series of events of an accident. But, if they see a video footage of the incident in question, they can correctly decide how much the people should be given as damages.
On the other hand, personal injury lawsuits evidence dictates, the court admits only evidence’ relevant to the case’. Attorneys from both sides of the divide will submit their evidence in court while it is left to the judge to decide which is allowed in the case of not. Although, video footage is hard to dismiss as it shows what truly happened as opposed to he said, she said.
There are other ways by which photos and videos can be helpful are; it can show the severity of the damage inflicted, it will show images of the scene, it would also show the cause of the incidence, show witnesses at the scene and recorded images of the injuries sustained by all parties involved.
As great as it is to get a dash cam and how it will positively affect your case, there is a down side to dash cams. When investing in a dash cam, ensure it is of a high quality. the reason is if the video footage recorded is grainy, low-quality and unclear, it won’t be of much use to you or help your case. If there is any footage of you at another time, which might be used to paint you in a bad light, it might be used to your disadvantage in court.
All in all, video footage can be extremely useful when you find yourself in court. It can make of break your case depending on which side of the divide you are on. Despite this, dash cam evidence is admissible in court and can be used as evidence to determine the true cause and effect of the case.
