Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Accident Documentation When There Is No Dashcam Footage
When neither vehicle recorded the collision, the physical scene and third-party cameras become the record. Delator Claims Division sends licensed Tennessee private investigators to photograph, measure and canvass the location for drivers, attorneys, adjusters and fleet managers who need neutral documentation.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
Most collisions are not captured by a camera inside either vehicle. Without video, the claim file is built from two driver accounts, a crash report if one was taken, and whatever the roadway and the vehicles still show. Those accounts often differ on speed, lane position, signal phase or who moved first. The physical record is what lets a reader test each version against something that does not depend on memory.
DCD documents that physical record and looks for video the drivers did not know existed. A field investigator photographs the approach from each driver's direction, records marks and debris, measures where the scene allows, and walks the surrounding block to identify cameras on businesses, homes and passing-vehicle routes. The work is neutral. We record what is there and who may hold footage. We do not decide which driver's account is correct.
Situations where the scene has to stand in for video
- Both drivers gave conflicting accounts to their insurers and neither vehicle had a forward or rear camera running at the time.
- A dashcam was installed but the memory card had overwritten, was corrupted, or the unit was not powered when the collision happened.
- An attorney wants to know within days whether a nearby business camera faced the roadway before its recording system records over the footage.
- A fleet vehicle's telematics logged a hard-braking event but the unit carried no camera, and the safety manager needs the scene recorded.
- An adjuster is working from a short crash report narrative and needs photographs that show the roadway from each driver's approach.
What the investigator records in place of footage
- Approach views for each driver
- Photographs taken at measured intervals along each vehicle's path of travel, at driver eye height where practical, showing what was visible on the way to the impact area.
- Third-party camera locations
- Every exterior camera identified within view of the roadway, with the address, the direction it faces, and the name of the person or business that controls it.
- Footage requests and responses
- A log of who was asked for video, when, what they said about retention, and whether a copy was provided, declined or already recorded over.
- Marks and debris at the impact area
- Tire marks, gouges, fluid stains and debris fields photographed with scale and referenced to fixed points such as curbs, poles or lane lines.
- Vehicle-borne recording sources
- Notes on whether either vehicle, or transit, delivery and rideshare vehicles on the route, may carry cameras or telematics, so the requesting party can pursue those records.
- Lighting at the hour of the collision
- Photographs taken at the same hour as the collision when requested, recording sun position, shadows, street lighting and signal visibility as they appear at that time.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
Third-party video is overwritten on a schedule nobody announces
Many storefront, fuel station and residential doorbell systems keep footage for a limited period and then record over it. The retention period varies by system and by owner, and it is rarely posted anywhere. A canvass carried out in the first days after a collision has a much better chance of finding usable video than one carried out after the claim has been disputed for a month. For that reason canvass requests are often placed at the Rush or Emergency tier.
An investigator cannot compel anyone to hand over footage. What we can do is identify each camera, ask the owner voluntarily, record the answer, and report who controls the system so that an attorney or carrier can send a preservation request through the proper channel. Where an owner agrees to share video, we note how the copy was made and the time shown on the recorder's clock compared with actual time, since recorder clocks are frequently off.
What the scene can show when no one recorded the impact
Physical evidence does not narrate a collision, but it narrows the possibilities. The location of debris and fluid points to the area of impact. Tire marks show whether a vehicle was braking or sliding sideways before or after contact. Damage height and direction on each vehicle show how the two met. Sightline photographs show what each driver could have seen and from how far back. Each of these can be compared with what the drivers said.
Tennessee uses modified comparative fault, so the allocation of fault between drivers matters to the outcome of a claim. DCD does not make that allocation on a neutral documentation assignment. The photographs, measurements and field notes go to the requesting party, typically the same day, and it is the adjuster, the attorneys or the court that weighs them. Where a reconstruction is later needed, the same scene record gives the analyst measured data to start from.
On this assignment Delator field personnel record what is physically present: photographs, video, measurements and factual notes. They do not adjust, appraise or value the loss, do not determine coverage, cause or fault, and do not represent any party to the claim.
Delator Claims Division is not a law firm, an insurer or an engineering firm, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Common questions about this service
Can you obtain footage from a business near the crash?
We can ask. Investigators identify cameras that face the roadway, speak with the owner or manager, and request a copy voluntarily. Some owners provide it and some decline or require a formal request. Either way, the report records who controls the system and what they said, so the requesting party knows where to direct a preservation letter.
How soon does the camera canvass need to happen?
As early as possible. Retention periods differ from one recording system to the next and we cannot tell you how long a particular owner keeps video until we ask. Emergency deployment puts an investigator on site in 30 minutes to 4 hours, and Rush deployment in 12 to 20 hours.
Will your report say which driver caused the collision?
No. On a neutral documentation assignment DCD records physical evidence, camera locations and conditions at the scene. We do not determine fault, causation or value, and we do not give legal advice. The party who requested the work decides how to use the material.
The scene has been cleared. Is there anything left to document?
Usually there is. Tire marks, gouges, fluid stains and damaged roadside objects can remain after vehicles are towed, and the roadway geometry, signage and sightlines do not change. The camera canvass does not depend on debris at all. The report states plainly what was and was not still present when the investigator arrived.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.