Surveillance footage can be among the most persuasive pieces of evidence in a slip-and-fall case.
Footage can capture the hazard itself, how long it existed before you fell, and whether an employee walked past it without acting. Of course, it can also show the fall itself, without relying on anyone’s memory or interpretation. This evidence can help prove the property owner was negligent and liable for your injuries.
However, most systems overwrite footage automatically within days or weeks, so acting quickly is of the utmost importance.
What Surveillance Footage Can Prove
Footage does more than show that you fell. Depending on camera placement, it can establish:
- How the hazard developed, such as a spill occurring, a shelf collapsing, or ice forming, which provides evidence of how long the condition existed.
- Notice of the danger, if employees walked past the hazard or customers avoided it before you fell.
- The store’s response time, including whether staff addressed the hazard promptly after it appeared.
- You were walking normally and paying attention, countering any comparative fault arguments from the property owner.
- The fall itself, showing how the injury occurred.
Each of these points speaks to a different element of a premises liability claim, and footage often resolves disputes that would otherwise come down to conflicting accounts.
Preserving Surveillance Footage
Most commercial surveillance systems record on a loop and automatically overwrite older footage, often within 30 to 90 days, depending on the system. Property owners have no independent obligation to preserve footage unless they’re notified that a claim may be coming, which means footage that could prove your case could be deleted before you’ve even finished initial treatment.
How an Attorney Can Help Preserve Video Evidence
After a slip and fall accident, your personal injury attorney can send a spoliation or preservation letter to the property owner or manager, formally putting them on notice that surveillance footage related to your fall must be retained.
This letter creates a legal obligation to preserve the footage and establishes a paper trail. If the footage is destroyed anyway, the property owner may face separate consequences for spoliation of evidence. The letter also buys time to formally request the footage through discovery if a lawsuit becomes necessary.
Sending this letter within days of the fall can help preserve it for use in your case. Waiting too long to request preservation risks deletion of the footage.
Other Types of Evidence Used in a Slip and Fall Claim
Surveillance footage carries significant weight in slip and fall claims. But strong cases are built on numerous types of evidence, including:
- Photographs of the hazard
- Incident reports created at the time of the fall
- Witness statements from anyone who saw the hazard or your fall
- Maintenance and inspection logs
- Prior complaint records establishing that the property owner had notice
- Weather reports that show icy or wet conditions at the time of the fall.
- Your clothing and footwear
Your attorney can help gather these and other types of evidence to help you show that the property owner was responsible for your injuries. They can also help you track and calculate your damages resulting from the fall.
Contact Feagans Law Group today so we can start building your claim while the evidence still exists. We offer free consultations to help you understand your rights.