Could a Security Camera Help My Slip-and-Fall Claim?

You’ve experienced a painful slip-and-fall accident that left you injured, facing medical bills, and possibly unable to work. As you consider your legal options, you might wonder if security camera footage could help your slip-and-fall claim. 

Security cameras are nearly everywhere in businesses these days. These silent witnesses can provide objective evidence of exactly what happened during your accident, potentially making the difference between a successful claim and one that gets dismissed. 

Video evidence could help or harm your slip–and-fall claim, depending on what it shows, and it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Our Los Angeles slip-and-fall accident lawyers use many pieces of evidence to create cases. That said, we find that security cameras can create powerful evidence in your favor.

How Security Camera Footage Can Strengthen Your Slip-And-Fall Claim

When you’re injured in a slip-and-fall accident, proving that the property owner was negligent is often challenging. Your word against theirs isn’t always enough to establish liability. Security camera footage offers an unbiased account of the incident that can significantly strengthen your claim.

Video evidence can show precisely what happened before, during, and after your fall. This visual documentation can verify several important elements of your claim:

• The exact conditions that caused your fall (wet floor, uneven surface, obstacle)
• How long the hazardous condition existed before your accident
• Whether warning signs were present or absent
• Your actions before the fall, showing you weren’t behaving recklessly
• The immediate aftermath, including visible injuries or distress
• Staff response time and actions following your accident

With clear video evidence, insurance companies and courts are more likely to take your claim seriously. Property owners and their insurers often change their position when confronted with irrefutable video evidence showing their negligence.

What Security Camera Footage Needs to Show for Your Claim

Not all security camera footage will help your slip-and-fall claim. The most helpful video evidence needs to clearly document specific elements that establish liability.

For security camera footage to effectively support your claim, it should capture:

• The hazardous condition that caused your fall, such as a spill, a torn carpet, or an obstacle in a walkway. This helps establish the existence of a dangerous condition on the property.
• Your fall and the direct connection between the hazard and your accident. The footage should show that the hazardous condition directly caused your fall.
• The timeframe showing how long the dangerous condition existed. If the video shows a spill remained unaddressed for hours, this helps prove the property owner had a reasonable time to discover and remedy the hazard.
• Any attempts (or lack thereof) by staff to identify, mark, or clean up the hazard. This demonstrates whether the property owner took reasonable steps to protect visitors.
• Your behavior before the fall to show you were acting reasonably and not contributing to your own accident through carelessness.

Between receiving security footage and presenting it as evidence, you’ll need to verify its authenticity. The footage should include a clear timestamp and, ideally, multiple angles of the incident area. Blurry or distant camera angles might not provide the detail needed to support your case effectively.

Finding and Obtaining Security Camera Footage After an Accident

After a slip-and-fall accident, acting quickly to secure video evidence is essential. Most businesses only keep security footage for a limited time—typically between 30 and 90 days—before it gets recorded over.

When seeking security camera footage, take these steps:

• Report your accident immediately to property management or staff. This creates an official record and puts them on notice to preserve evidence.
• Submit a formal written request for the security footage as soon as possible. Include the date, time, and location of your accident. If you hire a lawyer quickly after your accident, they can do this for you.
• Be specific about which cameras might have captured your fall. If you noticed cameras in the area, describe their locations in your request.

What to Do if the Property Owner Refuses to Provide Footage

Property owners sometimes resist sharing security camera footage, especially if they believe it might establish their liability. If you encounter resistance, there are legal remedies available.

When a property owner refuses to share security footage, your attorney can:

• File a lawsuit and use the legal discovery process to compel production of the video evidence. During discovery, the property owner must provide relevant evidence or face potential court sanctions.
• Request a court order specifically directing the property owner to preserve and produce the security footage.
• Argue for a negative inference if the footage was deliberately destroyed after the property owner received notice of your claim. This means the court may assume the destroyed evidence would have been unfavorable to the property owner.

Document all communication with the property owner regarding your requests for the footage. This creates a record showing your diligent efforts to obtain evidence.

Remember that delays can work against you. If the property owner stalls long enough, the footage might be automatically deleted or recorded over. This highlights the importance of taking prompt action through formal legal channels.

See if a Security Camera Will Help Your Slip-and-Fall Claim

Security camera footage can be a game-changing piece of evidence in your slip-and-fall claim. This unbiased visual record can clearly establish the property owner’s negligence and counter any attempts to blame you for your own injuries. However, obtaining and effectively using this evidence requires prompt action and sometimes legal assistance.

If you believe security camera footage will help your slip-and-fall claim, don’t wait to seek help. Contact our experienced premises liability attorneys at J&Y Law today for a free consultation about your case.

We can help you identify potential video evidence, take immediate steps to preserve it, and use it effectively to pursue the compensation you deserve for your injuries.