You slipped on a wet floor in a grocery store and suffered serious injuries. Store employees claim they had warning signs posted and that you weren’t watching where you were going. The security cameras captured everything, but now the store says the footage has been erased.
Our friends at Warner & Fitzmartin – Personal Injury Lawyers discuss how surveillance footage has become the most contested evidence in slip and fall litigation. As a slip and fall lawyer will tell you, obtaining and preserving this footage often determines whether your case succeeds or fails.
Why Video Evidence Matters So Much
Slip and fall cases typically come down to conflicting testimony about what caused the fall and whether the property owner knew about the hazard. You say the spill had been there for hours. The store claims it just happened. You describe clear liquid with no warning signs. They insist signs surrounded the area.
Security camera footage eliminates these disputes. The video shows exactly what the floor looked like, whether warning signs existed, how long the hazard was present, and what you did before falling. This objective evidence proves or disproves liability far more effectively than witness testimony.
Property owners understand this reality. When footage helps their defense, they preserve and produce it eagerly. When it supports your claim, the footage mysteriously disappears or becomes “unavailable.”
The Preservation Problem
Most security systems use loop recording that automatically overwrites old footage after a set period, often 30 to 90 days. If you don’t demand preservation immediately, the footage documenting your fall gets erased before you can obtain it.
Property owners have no automatic legal duty to preserve footage just because an accident occurred. Unless you or your attorney sends a formal preservation letter, they can allow their system to overwrite the recording without legal consequence.
This creates an urgent timeline. The day you fall, someone should notify the property owner in writing that litigation is anticipated and all video footage must be preserved. Waiting even a few weeks can result in permanent loss of the most important evidence in your case.
How To Request Footage Preservation
Immediately after your fall, report the incident to management and request they preserve all security footage. Get the manager’s name and contact information. Follow up the verbal request with written notice sent by email and certified mail.
The preservation letter should specify:
- The exact date, time, and location of your fall
- A demand that all video footage be preserved
- Notice that litigation is anticipated
- Warning that destruction of evidence will result in legal sanctions
- Request for confirmation that preservation measures were implemented
Property owners who receive proper preservation notices but destroy footage anyway face spoliation sanctions including adverse jury instructions, fines, or case dismissal in extreme circumstances.
Obtaining The Footage
Preservation and production are different issues. The property owner must preserve footage once properly notified, but they don’t have to give you a copy immediately. Obtaining the actual video often requires litigation and formal discovery.
Some property owners voluntarily provide footage, particularly if they believe it helps their defense. Others refuse, forcing you to file a lawsuit and subpoena the recordings. This delay can last months, during which you’re preparing your case without seeing the most important evidence.
Strategic considerations apply. Sometimes we prefer not seeing the footage until after we’ve taken the defendant’s deposition. If the property owner testifies falsely about what the video shows, that dishonesty becomes powerful evidence of liability consciousness even if the footage itself is neutral.
What Happens When Footage Gets Destroyed
If the property owner destroys footage after receiving proper preservation notice, spoliation of evidence rules come into play. Courts can impose various sanctions depending on the destruction’s severity and intent.
The mildest sanction is an adverse inference instruction where the judge tells the jury they can assume the destroyed footage would have supported your version of events. This instruction can be devastating to the defense.
More severe sanctions include monetary fines, dismissal of the property owner’s defenses, or in extreme cases, default judgment in your favor. Courts reserve these harsh remedies for intentional destruction or egregiously negligent evidence handling.
Proving the footage was actually destroyed rather than never existing requires investigation. We often hire technology professionals to examine the security system and determine whether cameras were operational, whether footage existed, and when it was deleted.
How Footage Can Help Or Hurt Your Case
Security footage cuts both ways. Video showing you texting while walking, ignoring obvious hazards, or engaging in horseplay before falling destroys your case. Footage revealing you were walking carefully and had no warning of the danger strengthens your claim tremendously.
Sometimes footage is simply neutral, showing the fall occurred but not clearly depicting the hazard or your actions beforehand. These videos still have value by establishing baseline facts about the incident that can’t be disputed later.
The worst scenario is footage that contradicts your description of events. If you claim you slipped on water but video shows you tripped over your own feet, your credibility vanishes. This is why we always caution clients to be completely honest about what happened rather than assuming we won’t obtain footage proving otherwise.
Camera Angles And Blind Spots
Security cameras don’t capture everything. Angles, resolution quality, lighting conditions, and obstructions all affect what the footage actually shows. A camera 50 feet away might show you falling but not reveal the small puddle that caused it.
We often retain video professionals to analyze footage and explain what it does and doesn’t prove. These specialists can enhance video quality, adjust lighting levels, and provide frame-by-frame analysis that reveals details invisible in standard playback.
Defense attorneys also hire video professionals who reach opposite conclusions about what the footage shows. These battles between competing opinions often determine how juries interpret the evidence.
Multiple Camera Views
Most commercial properties have numerous security cameras covering different areas. Your fall might appear on cameras from various angles and distances. Some views might clearly show the hazard while others don’t.
Obtaining all relevant footage is important. Property owners sometimes produce video from one camera while withholding footage from others that better support your case. Comprehensive discovery requests should identify all cameras in the area and demand footage from each.
Timestamp Accuracy
Security camera timestamps help establish how long a hazard existed before your fall. If footage shows liquid on the floor 30 minutes before you slipped, that proves the property owner had constructive notice of the dangerous condition.
However, timestamps aren’t always accurate. Camera clocks drift, systems get misconfigured, and technical glitches occur. We verify timestamp accuracy by identifying events visible on the footage that we can confirm through other evidence, like employees clocking in or delivery arrivals.
Public Vs. Private Property Footage
Government entities often have different rules about security footage than private businesses. Public records laws might require disclosure, or sovereign immunity doctrines might protect the footage. Municipal systems sometimes have shorter retention periods than commercial properties.
Neighboring businesses might have cameras that captured your fall even if the property where you fell lacks coverage. We investigate what businesses surround the accident location and whether their security systems could have recorded relevant footage.
Cell Phone Video From Witnesses
Beyond security cameras, witnesses might have recorded video immediately after your fall showing the hazard, the area, and your condition. This footage can be just as valuable as official security recordings.
Identifying these witnesses and obtaining their video requires quick action. People move away, delete old videos from their phones, and become unreachable if not contacted promptly after the incident.
How Long Different Systems Retain Footage
Retention periods vary widely by property type and system sophistication. Small businesses might overwrite footage weekly. Large retailers often keep recordings for 90 days or longer. Casinos and high-security facilities sometimes retain footage indefinitely.
Understanding the specific system’s retention schedule informs how quickly you must act. A 30-day retention period means the footage erases within a month unless preserved. A 7-day period creates extreme urgency requiring same-day preservation efforts.
Legal Requirements For Video Quality
Some jurisdictions mandate minimum security camera standards for certain business types. These requirements might specify resolution quality, frame rates, retention periods, and coverage areas. When property owners violate these standards, that violation can support negligence claims separate from the fall itself.
If security camera footage is available in your slip and fall case or you’re concerned about preserving video evidence before it gets destroyed, reach out to discuss immediate preservation steps, how to obtain the footage through legal process, and strategies for using surveillance recordings to prove your premises liability claim and counter property owner defenses.