Beware of Surveillance Video

I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

A common defense trial tactic is to record surveillance video of the plaintiff that the defense counsel then plays in court. Typically the video will be very well-edited and show the plaintiff engaging in impressive activities. Though many defense teams use this tactic, it often backfires.

An experienced plaintiff’s attorney will want to make a request to obtain all the original footage, including what was not included in the edited video clip, along with surveillance team notes. Sometimes a court order is required to obtain all of these surveillance materials. It is essential to get these materials well in advance of trial for several reasons.

A prime reason to obtain the video before trial is to ensure that all the plaintiff’s physicians, family members, and coworkers who might be testifying have a chance to view it.

Whenever we take a case, we make our clients aware that they likely will be under investigation and probably will be videotaped.

Surveillance is typically not undertaken where a person clearly looks hurt. What would be the point of making a video of someone with a pronounced limp?

Instead, surveillance will often be used with brain-injured clients. Why? Because even though most mild brain injury victims appear outwardly somewhat normal, the defense team may feel the need to highlight the apparent normal functioning.

But, video clips cannot show a lowered IQ level. Nor can video clips show an inability to perform mathematics problems or language difficulties.

Nevertheless, when you have a weak defense, sometimes all you can do is run with that weak defense.

A video may be used to illustrate that despite objective testing that shows brain damage, a person can get along fine.

Yet, a person who can now only function at 90% of their pre-injury capacity is seriously injured.

Imagine your favorite professional athlete with a 10% slower running speed. That 10% can quickly put a championship trophy out of reach.

We once had a TBI client who was videotaped walking her dog. The client never testified that she could not walk, and she never said she could not walk her dog.

But, for some reason, the defense team thought it necessary to show a video of her with her dog.

Needless to say, the jury was not impressed. The verdict against the defendant conducting the surveillance was quite large.

When the defense team makes a video that leaves out specific footage to present a biased view, it is critical to call them out.

In another case, we had the defense present a video of the client standing up and pumping gas. But we discovered they deleted video clips that captured the client struggling to get in and out of the car and having difficulty carrying groceries into the house.

The defense team tried to paint a distorted misleading view of the plaintiff using telephoto lenses and cropped camera angles. … Their tactic also failed in this case.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, a product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”