How To Obtain Traffic Camera Video of Your Pittsburgh Car Accident
Footage of a crash can provide crucial evidence for determining who’s at fault.
Car accidents involving multiple vehicles in Pittsburgh often turn into complicated legal cases. Even if you know you didn’t do anything wrong and the other driver was clearly at fault, you could still have a hard time getting the money you deserve for your accident-related expenses, especially if the at-fault driver tries to deny responsibility.
Fortunately, you often have many options for demanding the financial compensation you deserve. And one of the best ways to build a strong legal case is to provide evidence that proves you didn’t do anything wrong. That’s why video footage of your car crash can be so important.
But what types of car accident video footage are available? How do you get them? And how much time do you have to take action?
At the Romanow Law Group, our highly skilled Pittsburgh car accident lawyers can answer all these questions and more. Contact us today to see how we can help you.
Types of camera video
Depending on the circumstances of your Pittsburgh car crash, you may be able to obtain several different types of video footage of your accident, including:
- Traffic camera footage of your accident that was recorded at an intersection, especially if a driver ran a red light and crashed into your car.
- Highway traffic cameras positioned on major highways in Pittsburgh, including I-376 and I-279.
- Tollbooth cameras placed on limited-access toll roads such as the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
- Security cameras placed outside of businesses near where your car accident took place.
- Dashcam video recorded on your car or another vehicle involved in the collision or driving by at the time of the crash.
- Cellphone video recording of your accident or its aftermath recorded by you, someone else involved in the collision, or a passerby.
- Police video recorded by the local police officer or state trooper from the Pennsylvania State Police who responded to your collision.
Accessing car accident videos in Pittsburgh
In many cases, you will need to directly contact the person, business, local or state agency that owns or operates the camera. This can include:
- The City of Pittsburgh, especially if your accident was recorded on a traffic camera at a busy intersection.
- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority or the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation if a highway camera captured images of your collision.
- The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police if a local police officer responded to your collision and recorded a video at the scene of the accident.
- The Pennsylvania State Police if a state trooper responded to your accident.
- The person who recorded your accident on their dash cam video or cellphone, who you may be able to identify in the official Pennsylvania car accident report if this person was identified by the investigating police officer as a witness to your accident.
Crash victims need to act fast.
Video recordings of your car accident are often not saved forever. In many cases, the person, business, or government agency that owns such videos might only save them for a few days before destroying them forever. This is why accident victims need to act fast to gain access to such videos and demand that they’re preserved and can be used as evidence. Otherwise, you could have difficulty proving what happened, especially if the at-fault driver denies doing anything wrong or tries to blame you for causing the collision.
How a Pittsburgh car accident attorney can help you
Gathering evidence, including video footage after a car accident, can be complicated. And if you’re not sure what to do – which is perfectly normal since most people have never been involved in a serious car accident – you could lose valuable time and not find the car accident video footage you need to build a strong legal case.
At the Romanow Law Group, we know where to look to find video footage and other critical pieces of evidence in support of a car accident claim. That’s because we’ve been doing this work for years in Pittsburgh and throughout western Pennsylvania. In addition, we work on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay no fees unless we win your case.
Put your trust in a law firm that puts your needs first. Contact us and schedule a free consultation to learn how we can help with your potential legal case.