After a car accident in Alabama, it’s important to learn whether or not traffic camera footage exists of your collision. If it does, a negligent driver’s insurance company may be able to access it.
Suppose Alabama traffic cameras filmed or photographed your recent accident, and those images are accessible. In that case, an insurance company can obtain them. Generally, insurance companies do this in the hope that traffic camera footage will show that a victim acted negligently. Because these images are often poor quality, an insurance company might attempt to use them to fit its version of events. Call an attorney if an insurance company tries to use traffic camera footage against you. An experienced Alabama car accident lawyer can compile more compelling evidence that proves a negligent driver, not the victim, caused a crash.
Our attorneys are here to help victims throughout Alabama hold negligent drivers accountable. For a free case evaluation with the Alabama personal injury lawyers at Howe Law, call today at (844) 876-4357.
Can Insurance Companies Get Footage from Traffic Cameras in Alabama?
Although it’s rare for Alabama traffic cameras to capture footage or photographs of car accidents, if such information exists and is accessible, an insurance company can access it. However, that means you can also access traffic camera footage of a recent Alabama car accident if it exists.
Alabama car accident victims should understand just how rare it is for a traffic camera to film an accident. Like many states, Alabama has various live traffic cameras maintained by the state’s Department of Transportation. These cameras stream live footage, accessible to drivers and Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) staff to monitor traffic and weather conditions. It’s unclear whether or not ALDOT stores traffic camera footage. Even if it does, accessing this information can be difficult, even for insurance companies. There’s also no guarantee that your accident will be in view of one of ALDOT’s live traffic cameras.
Other traffic cameras used in Alabama, like red-light and speed cameras, don’t film footage. Instead, they take pictures when triggered. So, even if a negligent driver passed a red-light or speed camera at the exact moment they struck your vehicle, it’s unlikely that the camera would have snapped a clear photo of your accident. However, if that information does exist, an Alabama insurance company can contact the camera’s monitoring law enforcement agency to access it.
While this information is accessible to insurance companies, it is also accessible to Alabama car accident victims. Contact a Birmingham personal injury lawyer if you think a traffic camera may have filmed your recent collision. Your attorney can help you access footage or photographs to establish a negligent driver’s fault.
Why Do Alabama Insurance Companies Want to Get Footage from Traffic Cameras?
An Alabama insurance company might want to access traffic camera footage of your car accident for various reasons. Generally, the main reasons are to determine who is at fault for a collision and find some reason to give victims a lesser settlement than what they deserve.
Often, insurance companies want access to traffic camera footage to find reason to deny a claim. If there is footage or photos from a traffic camera, those images are unlikely to be very clear. That can allow an Alabama insurance company to speculate about an accident’s cause, calling into question whether a negligent driver truly caused your injuries.
Alabama is a pure contributory negligence state. If Alabama victims share fault for their injuries, they can be barred from recovery. Any evidence that muddies an accident’s events, making it unclear who is to blame, such as fuzzy traffic camera footage, can be valuable to an insurance company.
Ultimately, it’s important for Alabama car accident victims to understand that a negligent driver’s insurance company won’t want to settle for a sufficient amount. Any indication of fault might be used against you to undermine your compensation claim. That is why hiring an experienced Georgia car accident lawyer is important. Your attorney can anticipate an insurance company’s actions and uncover additional evidence that is more compelling.
What to Do if an Alabama Insurance Company Uses Traffic Camera Footage Against You
Hire an attorney if an Alabama insurance company tries to use traffic camera footage against you. An experienced Alabama car accident lawyer can thoroughly investigate a collision and uncover evidence that proves a negligent driver is to blame for a crash, not the victim.
Don’t expect a negligent driver’s insurance company to consider your best interests when you file a claim. Instead, hire an attorney who can compile evidence of a negligent driver’s fault that’s more compelling than any fuzzy traffic camera footage an insurance company might come across.
Your lawyer can gather information from the police report for your collision and eyewitness statements. Better yet, an experienced attorney can look for footage from private security cameras in the area that may have filmed your collision. If others witnessed a crash, they might have photographed its aftermath. Such photos or footage can be crucial when Alabama car accident victims file a claim with a negligent driver’s insurance.
By hiring an attorney immediately after a crash, Alabama victims can prevent any unsavory tactics by insurance companies to incorrectly attribute fault. Your lawyer can begin working right away to gather the necessary evidence that demonstrates an at-fault party’s negligence, not yours. That way, even with unclear traffic camera footage, an Alabama insurance company won’t have reason to deny your claim.
Call Our Lawyers After a Car Accident in Alabama
If you were recently injured in a car accident in Alabama, our attorneys can help. For a free case evaluation with the Alabama car accident lawyers at Howe Law, call today at (844) 876-4357.
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