How To Get CCTV Footage For Personal Injury Claims
By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 8th Novemebr 2023. Have you been involved in an accident that has caused you to suffer unnecessarily due to the fault of another? If you have been harmed due to a breach in the duty of care owed to you and could prove someone else was liable, then you might be able to make a personal injury claim for compensation.
Whether you have been involved in an accident at work, in a public place, on the roads or anywhere else, there may be CCTV footage of the incident. But, you may wonder what sort of a role CCTV of an accident could have in the personal injury claims process, and if you can get CCTV footage of a car accident, public place accident or workplace accident you were involved in. This is what this guide has been created to help you with.
CCTV (Closed Circuit Television)
We will explain all you may need to know about CCTV rules and regulations, including who can view CCTV footage, what the CCTV recording retention period might be, and how to get traffic camera footage in the UK to help with your claim. We’ll also explain a little about the personal injury claim process, and we’ll show you how to obtain CCTV footage after an accident with the assistance of our lawyers.
If you’d like to know more about how we could help you request CCTV footage of yourself, or you’d like to begin a claim, simply call 0800 073 8804. Otherwise, why not read below to find out more about how the CCTV of an accident could help with a personal injury claim.
Select A Section
- Could I Request CCTV Footage Of My Accident?
- What Is The Role Of CCTV Footage In Accident Claims?
- What Other Evidence Could You Obtain To Aid A Personal Injury Claim?
- Accident And Injury Compensation Claims Calculator
- Personal Injury Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Essential References
Could I Request CCTV Footage Of My Accident?
According to the Information Commissioner’s Office ICO, GDPR requirements that need to be followed by CCTV operators include:
- Making sure people know they are being filmed
- Explaining why CCTV is being used
- Controlling who has access to CCTV
- Deleting the footage when it is no longer required
If you had an accident that wasn’t your fault and was wondering if you can get CCTV footage of this, this guide may be of use to you. You may be wondering can you obtain CCTV footage of an accident that you are involved in by law? According to the government’s website, you are allowed to request CCTV footage of yourself. You would be required to make a request for your CCTV accident footage from the owner of the system. You may be able to request CCTV footage with a letter template found online, but you could simply write a letter, asking for the footage under the Data Protection Act.
What Is The Role Of CCTV Footage In Accident Claims?
You may be wondering, “Can I request CCTV footage of an accident to use as evidence in my personal injury claim?” Before we answer this question or discuss how to use CCTV footage as evidence in a personal injury claim, we’ll explain what makes a case valid. There are three main criteria that your claim must meet if you want to form the basis of a valid personal injury claim, and these are:
- Someone else has to owe you a duty of care
- They have to breach this duty
- Your injuries must be caused by this breach
A duty of care is a legal responsibility for the health and safety of someone else. If someone else breached their duty of care to you, causing you to suffer harm, this is known as negligence in tort law. Below we discuss where you are owed a duty of care by a responsible party.
For example, in the workplace, your employer owes you a duty of care. This means that they have to take all reasonably practicable steps to keep you safe while you are working, as outlined in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA).
However, if you are in a public place, then the controller of the space owes you a duty of care. This is set out in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (OLA), which states that the controller of the space must take steps to ensure the reasonable safety of those visiting the area.
All road users owe each other a duty of care and must navigate the roads according to the mandatory rules outlined in the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Our advisors are here to help if you’d like to learn more about obtaining CCTV footage for an insurance claim. Get in touch today to learn more.
How Long Could CCTV Footage Be Kept?
As there are no legal requirements for businesses to obtain and keep CCTV footage, there are no laws as to when businesses or individuals can delete their footage. Under GDPR requirements, if a business/individual has data, including CCTV footage, of another person, it should be deleted when no longer required. However, this could be considered a subjective decision and some businesses may keep this information longer than others.
The police, in general, recommend that footage should be kept for 31 days, unless a crime or major event has been captured on the camera, whereupon it may need to be accessed as part of any investigation into such an event.
What Other Evidence Could You Obtain To Aid A Personal Injury Claim?
Not only could CCTV accident footage provide good evidence as to the events of an accident, there are other forms of evidence that could also be drawn upon to provide proof of liability as well as proof of the injuries you have incurred in an accident that was not your fault.
Witness evidence – Witnesses that were not connected to the accident may provide an account of the events that could help to strengthen your claim.
Photographic evidence – Whether you have collected photographs of the scene of the accident or of your injuries, these may also be useful as part of a personal injury claim.
Medical evidence – You would be required to attend a medical appointment as a part of any personal injury claim. The evidence collected at this appointment could be used to value your claim.
Financial evidence – Whether you have experienced earning losses, medical costs or other costs associated with the accident or your injuries, keeping evidence of these losses and costs could make it easier for you to claim for them.
Accident And Injury Compensation Claims Calculator
Compensation payouts for each personal injury claim vary. They are influenced by factors such as the exact injuries you are claiming for, their severity, and the impact they’ve had on your life.
Following a successful claim supported by evidence such as CCTV footage, you will receive compensation for general damages. This type of compensation is meant to cover you for the pain and suffering your injuries have caused.
Those who value this head of claim may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) for help. This document offers guideline compensation brackets for different types of injuries. We have included some of the brackets listed in the 16th edition of the JCG in the table below.
This table should be viewed as a guide only.
| Injuries | Bracket | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amputation of Arm | Amputation below the elbow (b) (iii) | £96,160 to £109,650 | Whether the limb is amputated through the forearm. Severe phantom pain could lead to the higher end of this bracket. |
| Deafness | Total deafness (b) | £90,750 to £109,650 | Where the claimant is totally deaf. Tinnitus and speech impediment might attract the higher end of this bracket. |
| Back Injury | Severe (iii) | £38,780 to £69,730 | Fractures of discs or of vertebral bodies, disc lesions, or soft tissue injuries that cause conditions of a chronic nature despite treatment. |
| Head Injury | Less Severe | £15,320 to £43,060 | Where there could have been a good level of recovery, yet normal function may not have been restored. Concentration/memory loss may remain |
| Shoulder Injury | Severe | £19,200 to £48,030 | Brachial plexus damage potentially caused by neck injury. |
| Hand Injury | Less Serious Hand Injury | £14,450 to £29,000 | Long term function impairment caused potentially by a severe crush-type injury. Surgery may not have resolved the issues. |
| Skeletal Injuries | Multiple Fractures Of Facial Bones | £14,900 to £23,950 | Permanent deformities caused by multiple fractures |
If you are eligible to claim for general damages, then you may be able to claim for an additional type of compensation called special damages. This may be included to cover financial losses or expenses directly related to your injuries and the incident that caused them. For example, you may have experienced a loss of earnings due to taking time off work to recover. Special damages could compensate you for your past and future lost earnings.
Contact our advisors today to learn more about how much compensation you could receive if you have a valid claim. They can also answer other questions you may have, such as how you may be able to acquire CCTV footage as evidence for your claim.
Personal Injury Claims With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
You could consider getting support from a solicitor if you have valid grounds to make a personal injury claim and you’ve been obtaining CCTV footage to help build your case. Our advisors are available to discuss your claim and they may connect you with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
If it’s determined you have a strong case that meets the eligibility criteria, one of our No Win No Fee solicitors could offer to help with your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). With this type of agreement, you won’t be required to pay upfront or ongoing fees for their services. It also won’t be required for you to pay your solicitor for their services if your claim does not succeed.
In successful claims, your solicitor can take a legally capped percentage from the compensation awarded to you. This is often called a success fee.
For more advice on making a personal injury claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor, please contact our advisors for free. You can reach them by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Writing to us by using our online contact form
- Messaging us through our 24/7 online live chat service
Essential References
We have lots more guides on personal injury claims which you can browse below:
- A guide to the claims process
- Climbing wall activity accident claims
- Claiming compensation for quad bike injuries
- Activity centre injuries – how to claim compensation
- Claiming compensation for a mountain bike injury
- How does the personal injury claim process work?
- Missing tile accident claims
- Success fees in personal injury cases
- How many claims go to court?
- Special damages in personal injury claims
- Claiming compensation for injuries caused by faulty furniture
- How to claim against your employer
- Compensation tables for personal injury
- Try our personal injury claims calculator
- Multi-story car park accident claims
- The Pre-Action Protocols in personal injury
- How much compensation can you get for a personal injury claim?
- Data Protection For CCTV Usage – Here, businesses can find information on using CCTV correctly as a business.
