After a Car Accident in Louisiana, Do This to Find Camera Footage

After a car accident, most people are focused on their injuries, their car, and figuring out what comes next. But one of the most important things you can do in the hours and days following a crash is to find out whether anyone captured it on camera and move quickly to make sure that footage doesn't disappear.

At Burnham Law Firm, we've seen camera footage make or break a car accident case. Here's what that process actually looks like.

Use Google Maps to Identify Who's Nearby

Before you do anything else, pull up Google Maps and look at the area where the accident happened. Identify every business and residence in the surrounding area, such as gas stations, restaurants, convenience stores, banks, apartment complexes, anywhere that might have a security camera facing the road or parking lot.

Write them down. That list is where you start.

Reach Out to Those Businesses Directly

Call the businesses on your list and ask whether they have a camera that may have captured the accident. Give them the date, time, and general location. Most businesses are willing to help if you ask the right way.

If you can, go in person. A face-to-face conversation is harder to ignore than a phone call, and people tend to be more cooperative when you're standing in front of them. Keep it simple: tell them you were in an accident nearby, you're trying to find out if it was caught on camera, and you'd appreciate their help.

Know When Footage Actually Helps Your Case

Camera footage isn't always a good thing for your claim. If the accident was a low-speed impact with limited visible property damage, a video showing that can give the insurance company grounds to question how seriously you were injured. That's a real consideration worth discussing with a personal injury attorney before you go chasing footage.

That said, if there's any dispute about how the accident happened or who was at fault, what's legally referred to as liability, then finding camera footage should be one of your first priorities. A clear video of the collision can resolve those disputes quickly and significantly strengthen your case.

Act Fast: Footage Gets Deleted

Camera systems don't hold footage forever. Many businesses record over their footage within 24 to 72 hours, and some property owners aren't even sure whether their cameras are working at all. The longer you wait, the greater the chance the footage no longer exists by the time you go looking for it.

This is not something to put off.

Send a Spoliation Letter

Once you've identified who might have relevant footage, send them a spoliation letter,

which is also called a notice to preserve evidence. This is a formal written notice informing them that they may be in possession of video evidence relevant to a legal matter and that they are required to preserve it.

Without this letter, a business has no legal obligation to hold onto the footage. If it gets recorded over before you have the chance to obtain it, there may be little you can do. The letter creates a clear paper trail showing that you put them on notice, which matters if that evidence later turns out to be missing.

At Burnham Law Firm, we send these letters regularly and have templates we use in our cases. If you need guidance on what to send or how to send it, reach out, and we can point you in the right direction.

You Don't Have to Figure This Out on Your Own

These are steps anyone can take on their own, but the bigger picture is that building a case, dealing with insurance companies, and understanding your rights under Louisiana law is more complicated than most people realize going in.

If you or someone you know was hurt in a car accident in Louisiana, we're happy to talk through your situation at no cost.

Call Burnham Law Firm at 504-358-0008 for a free consultation.

Don't get burned. Call Burnham.