Injury Claim When a Manager Shares Accident Video

Attorney Answer

The collision and the video are two separate problems, and only one of them has a clear answer. Being struck by a car inside an apartment building is an ordinary negligence claim against whoever was driving, and possibly against whoever was responsible for the garage or driveway. Whether a manager showing that footage to other people gives you a claim of your own is a different question, and it is not one a general page can answer.

Start with the collision. Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a) provides: "Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself." A driver who strikes a person while failing to use ordinary care is responsible for the harm that follows, and a private garage or parking area is not an exception to that.

What the responsibility covers is set by Cal. Civ. Code § 3333: "For the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, the measure of damages, except where otherwise expressly provided by this Code, is the amount which will compensate for all the detriment proximately caused thereby, whether it could have been anticipated or not." Medical treatment, time missed from work, and the effect on daily life all sit inside that measure.

California uses pure comparative fault. If the driver's insurer argues that you share part of the blame — where you were walking, or that you stepped out from between parked cars — that argument reduces a recovery in proportion to your share. It does not eliminate it. In Daly v. General Motors Corp., 20 Cal. 3d 725 (1978), the California Supreme Court confirmed that an injured person's recovery is reduced only to the extent that their own lack of reasonable care contributed to the injury. That is worth knowing before you accept anyone's account of whose fault the accident was.

Now the video. California does recognize claims arising from the misuse of images of a person, but whether repeatedly showing building security footage of an accident to other residents crosses that line depends on where the camera was, what the footage actually shows, why it is being shown, and what the building's own rules and leases say. That is a question to put to a local attorney with the facts in front of them. What is certain is the practical point underneath it: that footage is the best evidence of how you were hit, and it should not be allowed to disappear.

What you can do

1. Send building management a short written request to preserve the footage of the incident and any related recordings, and keep a copy of what you sent and the date you sent it.

2. Ask, in writing, for a copy of the footage and for any incident report the building prepared.

3. Gather your medical records and bills, and anything showing work you missed or duties you could not perform.

4. Report the collision to the driver's insurer and to your own insurer, and ask each in writing for the claim number and the adjuster's name.

5. Write down the names and phone numbers of anyone who saw the collision or who has been shown the video.

6. Ask a local attorney both questions in the same call — the injury claim and whether the manager's handling of the video supports a separate claim. Bring the dates you asked for the footage and who you asked.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. In California a personal injury claim runs under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1, and a claim for damage to property runs under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1). Which period applies here, and when it started, depends on your facts, and this incident is not recent. Have a California attorney confirm your deadlines now rather than relying on any general rule.