Serious Vehicular Injury? Why You Must Act Quickly To Preserve The Evidence.
For referring attorneys: what to preserve in the first days of a serious injury matter, and why it can’t wait.
A serious injury case often depends on evidence that exists for only a short time. Vehicle data, dash cam footage, and surveillance video are frequently recorded over automatically, and once they are gone, no amount of later investigation can bring them back, making it critical to quickly preserve evidence. By the time a matter reaches a lawyer, some of this evidence may already be lost.
What Can Disappear
Modern vehicles record information in several places. The airbag control module, often called the event data recorder, stores data about speed, braking, and throttle around a crash. Other systems, such as telematics and infotainment units, may hold location and usage data. Each system works differently, and how long data is kept depends on the manufacturer and the vehicle.
Video is often the most fragile. Dash cams, business surveillance systems, and traffic cameras commonly overwrite older footage on a loop, sometimes within days. A camera that is still running today may have already erased the footage that matters.
Physical evidence also changes. Vehicles are repaired, sold, or sent to salvage. Damaged parts are discarded. Repair shops may not know that a vehicle should be held.
Why Timing Matters
Most jurisdictions require parties to preserve relevant evidence once litigation is reasonably anticipated. If evidence is lost after that point, the court can impose sanctions, and the consequences can be significant. The rules, including what triggers the duty and what remedies are available, vary by state and by the facts of the case.
Even where no sanction is possible, lost evidence weakens the case. A defendant can argue that data was never recorded, or that footage would not have helped the plaintiff. Preserving it early removes that argument.
What Referring Attorneys Can Do Now
Several steps can be taken before a matter is referred or in the first days after referral:
Ask the client not to repair, sell, or scrap the vehicle or device until counsel has reviewed it.
Ask whether the client has a dash cam, phone video, or photos, and make sure those files are backed up.
Identify nearby businesses and their cameras, and note the time of the incident so footage can be requested quickly.
Gather the names and contact details of witnesses while their memories are fresh.
Keep the damaged clothing, personal items, and any equipment involved.
Send the vehicle to the trial team early, so counsel can decide what to request and when.
How We Approach This
Bearden Law Firm handles catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters with trial in mind from the first contact. Preservation is one of the first decisions we make.
If you have a matter where evidence may be at risk, call us at 1-800-929-9318 or email information@beardenlawfirm.com. We can talk through what to preserve before you decide where the case should go.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in future matters.
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