How To Request CCTV Accident Footage For Your Claim

By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 15th December 2023. If you’ve been injured in an accident due to a relevant third party breaching their duty of care, you may be entitled to claim compensation. If any CCTV cameras recorded this accident, then acquiring the footage could be very helpful in supporting your case. In this guide, we offer advice on how to get CCTV footage of your accident.

In this guide, we will discuss the eligibility criteria you must meet to make a personal injury claim, and the instances when you are owed a duty of care. You may also have questions about collecting this type of evidence for a personal injury claim such as “Can I request CCTV footage?” We’ll explain when it should be ok to do so, as well as the key steps on how to request CCTV footage for a claim.

Also in this guide, we’ll discuss other types of evidence that can help with a car accident claim, potential compensation payouts and the benefits of claiming with a No Win No Fee solicitor.

If you would like to discuss your claim further, you can contact our friendly team of advisors. They can help answer any questions you may have as well as offer you free advice. To speak to an advisor today, you can:

Can I Request CCTV footage of an Accident

How to get CCTV footage of an accident

Select A Section

Do I Need To Request CCTV Accident Footage To Make A Personal Injury Claim?

Having CCTV footage is key evidence when making a personal injury claim, as it can show who may be at fault for the accident. However, in order to make a personal injury claim, you must be able to prove that you were owed a duty of care and you were injured because they breached this duty. This is a legal responsibility for the health and safety of someone else.

Examples of parties that may have a duty of care towards you can include:

  • Road users: All road users have a duty of care towards other road users. They must use the roads in a way that prevents harm to themselves and others. To uphold this duty, they must also refer to the rules and guidance contained within the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
  • Employers: Every employer has a duty of care towards their employees per the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This states that they must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that their employees are safe while working.
  • Occupiers: Those in charge of public premises owe a duty of care to those who visit per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This means that they must ensure the reasonable safety of visitors to the space.

CCTV footage is just one piece of evidence that could help to back up a personal injury claim. To find out if you can request CCTV footage of an accident please read on. Or To learn more or check your eligibility to claim, please contact an advisor. 

How To Get Video Footage Of An Accident

You might be wondering how to request traffic camera footage. You can make a written or verbal request to the owner of a CCTV system to request CCTV footage of yourself.  The request you make should include information that can help the owner identify you, such as a specific date and time, proof of your identity and a description of yourself.

However, it’s important to note that you may not always be granted access to the footage. For example, if the footage shows other people and they can not be edited out to protect their identity then the owner might be unable to share the footage with you. As an alternative, the owner of the footage could invite you to view the footage if they cannot share it with you.

If you’re still wondering ‘can you request traffic camera footage?’, please get in touch with our team of advisors.

Collecting Evidence For A Personal Injury Claim

If you are injured or made ill because of an accident that was not your fault, you could be entitled to claim compensation. To claim compensation, your personal injury lawyer will have to present evidence that another party was at fault for your injuries/illness through negligence. As well as using CCTV footage, there are many other things you can do at the scene of your accident to collect evidence to support your claim.

How to collect evidence to support your personal injury claim:

  • Talk to eyewitnesses, take down their names and contact details. They may be able to testify on your behalf later on.
  • Collect photographic evidence by taking pictures, using a date stamp if possible. You can photograph the hazard that caused your accident, your injuries if they are visible or any damage to your property.
  • If you make any purchases relating to your accident keep the receipt. This can include taking a taxi to the hospital or buying medication. This can be used as evidence and you may be able to reclaim the costs as special damages.
  • If you are injured in a workplace or within the grounds of a business premises such as a shop or hotel, report your injury to the management and make sure that the details are accurately recorded in the accident book.

Compensation From A Car Accident

When calculating compensation from a car accident, you might want to get an idea of how much you could receive. Generally, successful claims could result in an award comprised of general damages and special damages.

Special damages compensate for the out-of-pocket costs caused by your injury.

General damages are designed to compensate successful claimants for the suffering and pain of their injuries. Plus, the loss of amenity they’ve experienced because of their injuries. This relates to the loss of enjoyment of their usual daily activities. 

No two claims are precisely alike, and therefore, there are considerations that must be given to different factors when calculating compensation for a car accident injury. For example, the physical and mental impact on you can be considered as well as the severity of the injury and your future prognosis. 

Should I Use An Injury Claim Calculator?

To get an idea of how much compensation for a car accident injury you could be awarded, you could look at an injury claim calculator. However, as an alternative, we have used figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to create the table below. The guidelines contain compensation brackets for different injuries.

Edit
Location of injury Compensation Guideline Injury Comments
Multiple serious injuries inclusive of special damages. Up to £300,000+ A combination of serious injuries resulting in pain, suffering and financial loss, including care costs and loss of income.
Hand Injuries £140,660 to £201,490 (a) Total or effective loss of both hands.
Hand Injuries £55,820 to £84,570 (b) Serious damage to both hands.
Hand Injuries £29,000 to £61,910 (e) Serious hand injuries.
Leg Injuries £97,980 to £132,990 Amputation (i) Below the knee amputation of both legs.
Leg injuries £54,830 to £87,890 Severe (ii) Injuries leading to permanent issues with mobility.
Knee Injuries £69,730 to £96,210 Severe (i) Serious knee injury with disruption of the joint.
Knee Injuries £14,840 to £26,190 Moderate (i) Dislocation, torn cartilage, or meniscus causing mild future disability.
Ankle Injuries £50,060 to £69,700 (a) Very Severe – Cases of a bilateral ankle fracture.
Ankle Injuries £13,740 to £26,590 (c) Moderate – Fractures or ligamentous tears causing less serious disabilities.

However, we should point out that these are only guidelines. Therefore, if you wish to get a personalised estimate of the compensation you could receive, it might be best to seek legal advice. We could help you with this.

How Are Special Damages Calculated?

In addition to general damages, successful claimants are also awarded special damages. These are reimbursement for any expenses the client has experienced because of their injuries. These can include the following:

  • Medical expenses. This can include reimbursement for medicines, surgery, physiotherapy or any other type of medical treatment.
  • Travel expenses. You can claim back the cost of parking at a hospital, taking a taxi to the hospital, or alternative transport if you couldn’t drive after your injuries.
    Home and car adaptations expenses: You can claim funds to adapt your home or car as needed if you have been made disabled by your accident.
  • Mobility equipment. If you have been made disabled by your accident you can claim compensation for any mobility equipment you may need.
  • Care expenses. If you are now in need of at-home care, you can claim funds to pay for this.
  • Loss of income. This can include reimbursement of any salary payments or in-work benefits you missed out on, whilst you were recovering from your injuries or any future loss of earnings.

No Win No Fee Claims For Accidents And Injuries

Now we have explained who can request CCTV accident footage, let us move on to whether you should get help with your claim. 

When making a personal injury claim, you may want to consider getting legal help from a solicitor. They can help you with various aspects of the claiming process, such as gathering evidence and negotiating a compensation settlement on your behalf. 

One of our No Win No Fee solicitors could offer to take on your case under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). With this type of No Win No Fee arrangement in place, you generally are not expected to pay your solicitor for their services upfront, while the claim is progressing or if it fails.

Alternatively, if your claim is a success, your solicitor will deduct a small percentage of your compensation as a success fee.

To check whether one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could assist with your claim, please contact an advisor by:

Helpful Resources On How To Request CCTV Accident Footage

We hope that you’ve found this article helpful and you now know how to get CCTV footage from traffic lights. Hopefully, we’ve given you enough guidance on how to get CCTV footage of a car accident. It should help determine whether you could request CCTV footage of a death. Plus, we’ve answered your questions about how long do supermarkets keep CCTV footage and can I request traffic camera footage. if you would like our help with a claim, please get in touch.