Preserving warehouse surveillance footage and timing information.
What Costco Surveillance Video Should a Lawyer Request
Short answer: Ask for the views and time period needed to understand how the hazard appeared, what happened to the shopper and how staff responded. That often means more than the camera aimed at the fall. Approaches, nearby work and entry or exit footage may answer different questions. Explain the relevance of each request and keep its scope proportionate to the dispute.
Start with the camera map and the person who understands the system. A fall-only clip leaves out the lead-up. The useful view may be across the aisle: it could show a package leaking as someone approaches, even without a view of the floor. Entrance footage serves another purpose—it may help identify a witness. Ask the custodian about the recording and export process before assigning significance to a displayed time.
| Recording | Questions for the custodian |
|---|---|
| Playback | Which player is needed? What frame rate was recorded and exported? |
| Time | What generated the timestamp? Which clock settings applied? Can it be compared with a transaction or incident record? |
| Preservation | What retention period applied? Who handled the source and each export? |
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 196.4 addresses electronic-data requests. Specify the data and the production form; explain the reason for the requested interval. The court may limit an overbroad demand. For annotated exhibits, retain the source and disclose every crop, zoom, speed change and overlay. See the Costco litigation guide for how this work fits the rest of the case. Missing footage calls for its own inquiry into recording and retention.
Coverage before clips
Mark the fall location, shopper and staff routes, and nearby stocking or cleaning on an aisle sketch. Ask the custodian which cameras cover each area and whether recording was continuous, motion-triggered or absent. Choose the requested interval from that information.
The view with the clearest fall is not necessarily the most useful one for origin. An intersecting view might show the leaking package arriving. At the entrance, the useful detail might instead be the face or clothing of a witness. Revisit the requested interval after seeing the map and first production.
Request native and derivative files
Request the files as maintained, or another usable production form, together with what is needed to interpret them. That may include the player or codec, camera IDs, frame rate, time-zone and daylight-saving settings, overlays, export logs and retention schedule. Ask for the relevant exports as well as any insurer’s compilation, and retain each separately. A time shown on screen could come from the camera, a server or the playback software. A receipt from a different system does not establish that either clock was accurate. Rule 196.4 also addresses objections to retrieval or production and extraordinary retrieval expense; a request does not guarantee access to every format.
Worked timing example
This hypothetical uses two cameras with different clocks:
| Source | Displayed time | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| Camera A | 3:04 | A wet-looking patch appears. |
| Camera A | 3:19 | The member falls. |
| Camera B | 3:14 | An employee is near the aisle. |
The custodian establishes that A ran four minutes fast, while B used server time. A’s interval is still 15 minutes. Its corrected times would be 3:00 and 3:15, which changes where the employee’s 3:14 appearance belongs in the sequence.
The shiny patch at 3:04 may be a reflection. Compare source frames with fixed aisle features and check for motion-recording gaps. If its identity remains unresolved, the clock calculation cannot establish that it was the same spill.
Preparing an admissible exhibit
A witness familiar with the location and recording can explain how the camera and export produced the offered file. That is part of establishing authenticity under Texas Rule of Evidence 901. A comparison with the source should also confirm the derivative’s frame order and speed.
Show the normal-speed source before any enlargement or slow motion, and document changes in a version log. Cropping out a warning risks a misleading exhibit and a Rule 403 objection. Narration cannot fill a blind spot; neither inspection records nor a missing-footage inquiry supplies that view.
Investigation and courtroom application
A production schedule makes gaps easier to spot. Use one row per camera and a separate row for any insurer’s compilation:
| Identify the file | Account for its contents |
|---|---|
| Camera ID and location | Recording dates; interval requested; interval received; gaps. |
| Original format and export operator | Available source hash; export steps; whether the original remains retained. |
| Derivative or compilation | Source files used and differences from those sources. |
Camera 3’s export might begin two minutes after camera 2 records a leaking item being carried past. The custodian needs to account for those two minutes: reproduce the export, identify what remains retained and explain whether a better source exists than the litigation clip.
The resolution needed to see a person fall may be insufficient to see clear liquid. Enlarging the clip does not add the missing detail. A trial presentation should make that limitation, any blind spots and the validated time corrections understandable. An animation depicting another angle must be labeled as an inference, so nobody mistakes it for a camera recording.
Find the published articles in the Texas Costco Injury Claims and Litigation Guide.
ABOUT THE ATTORNEY
Aaron A. Herbert
Founding Attorney
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law
Aaron founded The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert in 2010 to focus on developing each client's case and seeking its maximum value. For over a decade, he has represented people seriously injured in major accidents and industrial catastrophes, pursuing trial verdicts and settlements while working to reduce the stress of litigation.
Education
- Texas A&M University · B.S., Criminal Justice, 1999
- University of Oklahoma College of Law · J.D., 2002; graduated in the top of his class
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers