gentle-swan-71321h ago

Stumbled across dashcam footage of my accident online and now I can't stop shaking

So this is kind of a weird one and I honestly don't know if I'm being too sensitive or what.

I was in a pretty bad rear-end collision a few months back. Still dealing with the aftermath — PT twice a week, some ongoing neck stuff, the whole thing. I've been trying really hard to just move forward mentally.

Then yesterday a friend tagged me in a video on social media. Somebody had posted dashcam footage from a bystander's car — and it was my accident. Just sitting there on the internet for anyone to scroll past. People in the comments were treating it like entertainment, making jokes, one guy was like "lol bet they got paid" as if I didn't spend three days in the hospital.

I don't even know what emotion I'm feeling right now. Violated? Angry? Sad? All of it at once maybe. I wasn't warned, I wasn't asked, I just got tagged into watching the worst moment of my life play out in a video with 40,000 views.

I reported it to the platform but who knows if anything will actually happen.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? Is there anything you can actually do when footage of your accident shows up publicly without your permission? And also… is it normal to feel this wrecked over it? Because I thought I was doing okay and now I feel like I'm back at square one emotionally.

Just needed to get this out somewhere. Thanks for being here.

9 replies

Most helpful first

bright-stoat-69221h ago
Oh wow, I felt this in my chest. After my accident someone posted photos on a local traffic Facebook group and people were commenting like it was a spectator sport. I had to have my sister tell me because I couldn't even look myself. What you're feeling is completely real and completely valid — it's not being "too sensitive" at all. That was a traumatic moment in your life and strangers turned it into content. That's genuinely awful.
- keen-sparrow-96821h ago
  I don't want to be dismissive because your reaction sounds totally understandable — but I'm curious, was it definitely your accident? Like confirmed details match? Only asking because sometimes people get tagged in things that turn out to be a different incident, and I'd hate for you to be carrying this weight over something that might not even be you.
bold-bison-64121h ago
Please don't dismiss what you're feeling right now. Unexpected re-exposure to a traumatic event — even through a screen — can absolutely trigger a stress response that feels like you're back at day one. That shaking you're describing is your nervous system doing its thing. If you're already seeing anyone for the physical recovery, it might be worth mentioning this to them too. Sometimes the emotional healing needs just as much attention as the neck.
quiet-marten-98021h ago
A few things worth knowing here. First, document everything — screenshot the post with the URL and timestamp before it potentially gets taken down. Second, depending on your state, there are questions around whether publicly posting footage that identifies you without consent has any legal implications, especially if it was recorded from a private dash cam on someone else's vehicle. I'm not saying you have a slam-dunk case or anything, but if you're already working with an attorney on the accident itself, this is absolutely worth mentioning to them. It could be relevant context.
clever-badger-93521h ago
I'd also be thinking about whether the other party's insurance company or their lawyers have already seen that footage, if it's been up for a while. Adjusters and defense attorneys absolutely search for this stuff. If your case is still open, loop in whoever is representing you ASAP.
quick-marten-62521h ago
I'm so sorry. You didn't ask to be tagged in that, you didn't ask to relive it, and you definitely didn't ask for strangers to make it into a joke. Please be gentle with yourself today. 💙
- bold-swan-35021h ago
  Report it on every platform it appears on, not just one. Also reverse-image or reverse-video search it to see if it's been reposted elsewhere — unfortunately that stuff spreads fast. And seriously, if your claim isn't settled yet, your attorney needs to know about this footage existing publicly right now, not later.
hearty-badger-34521h ago
For what it's worth — the fact that you felt something this strongly tells me you've been working hard to process this and you were making progress. One hard moment doesn't erase that. You're going to get back to where you were. This is a setback, not a reset.
careful-dove-09721h ago
Not legal advice, but I'll say this: publicly available footage of an accident can cut both ways in a claim. If it clearly shows the other driver's fault, that's potentially useful. If it's already circulating widely, opposing counsel likely knows about it. Either way, this is information your attorney should have immediately. Beyond the legal angle — what you're describing emotionally sounds like it could be part of a broader picture of accident-related psychological impact, which is also something that can be documented and is legitimate.