When a vehicle strikes a person, the consequences are almost always catastrophic for the pedestrian. In the aftermath, the driver may claim “they came out of nowhere” or “I didn’t see them.” Without clear evidence, insurance companies will seize on this ambiguity to blame the victim and deny the compensation they desperately need for their devastating injuries.
But in the modern world, there is often an unblinking, unbiased witness that tells the real story: the dash cam.
The growing use of dashboard cameras has revolutionized how we prove fault in complex accidents. A scientific article published by the National Institutes of Health explores the importance of dash cam analysis in reconstructing vehicle-pedestrian crashes. The research underscores what we as attorneys have seen firsthand: video evidence is often the single most powerful tool for achieving justice for an injured victim. It cuts through the conflicting stories and lays out the objective truth.
The Critical Evidence a Dash Cam Provides
A dash cam video does more than just show the impact. When analyzed by experts, it provides a wealth of data that can definitively establish negligence.
- A Clear View of the Scene: The footage shows the driver’s view of the road, including traffic signals, crosswalks, and any potential obstructions.
- The Pedestrian’s Actions: It captures the pedestrian’s movement, showing whether they were in a crosswalk, crossing legally, and how they were behaving before the crash. This can instantly disprove false claims that the pedestrian “darted out” into traffic.
- The Driver’s Behavior: The video can reveal signs of distracted driving, such as a driver looking down at their phone in the seconds before impact.
- Timeline of Events: Sophisticated dash cams often embed crucial data like time, GPS location, and even vehicle speed directly into the video file, allowing for a precise, second-by-second reconstruction of the event.
In a pedestrian accident, where the victim is often unable to provide a clear account of what happened due to the severity of their injuries, this video evidence is invaluable. It can be the difference between a denied claim and a successful recovery.
How We Use Dash Cam Evidence to Win Your Case
Finding and securing dash cam footage is a critical and time-sensitive part of any accident investigation. It’s not just about the involved vehicle; often, a witness in another car may have captured the entire incident on their own dash cam.
- Immediate Investigation: As soon as we take on a case, our investigators canvas the area for any potential witnesses or nearby businesses that may have security cameras. We also immediately demand that the at-fault driver and their insurance company preserve any and all electronic data from their vehicle.
- Expert Analysis: We work with forensic video analysts and accident reconstruction experts who can break down the footage frame by frame, calculating vehicle speed, distances, and reaction times.
- Building an Airtight Narrative: This objective data, combined with medical records and expert testimony, allows us to create a powerful, fact-based narrative of what happened. It systematically dismantles the defense’s arguments and proves the driver’s liability.
Whether you were injured in a crosswalk, on a sidewalk, or even while riding a bicycle or scooter, video evidence can be your most powerful ally. The principles of using this technology are the same in a complex car accident or even a catastrophic wrongful death case.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a pedestrian, do not let the driver’s story be the only one that’s told. You need a legal team that knows how to find and use modern evidence to prove the truth.
Contact Manoukian Law for a free and confidential consultation to find out how we can help.
