Questions for Attorney Carbone: Can I Use Dash Cam Footage in my Car Accident Claim?
Posted January 23rd, 2017 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Auto Accidents.
Question: I got into a car accident recently in Newark. While making a left turn, a car ignored the signal and hit my car. The other driver wasn’t hurt but I suffered a neck injury. The insurance company is now refusing to pay my claim, saying that the car accident couldn’t have possibly caused my injury. Yet I have a dash cam installed in my car that recorded the whole event. Can I use this footage as evidence against the other driver?
Answer: We discussed this before but we’ll briefly talk about this again. New Jersey is a no-fault insurance state. This means that the insurance does not assign blame, even if you are responsible for the accident. This means if you want to pursue legal action, you will be suing your own insurance company for damages. There’s a threshold for bringing a suit against your insurance which means you will only get so much. However, if your insurance company is denying your claim, you may want to consider litigation at this point.
We’ve explained in the past whether dash cameras are legal in New Jersey. And yes, dash cam evidence can prove to be important to your claim. As we’ve said before, dash cams can provide an unbiased witness testimony in your case. It shows what really happened before and during your car accident. It’s just like photographic evidence of the damage your car received or just how serious your injuries really were after the fact.
But be careful. Though dash cams can be used as evidence in a car accident claim, you must remember that the dash cam footage can show everything. For instance, let’s say that left turn you were making happened to be illegal at the time. The dash cam will capture that on tape and this could put your claim in serious jeopardy, especially if you failed to mention that you committed a traffic violation at the time.
Do you have a legal question that you need Attorney Carbone to answer? Then let us know! Contact the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone today for a free consultation.
