Attorneys defending a village against a sidewalk slip-and-fall case are caught off guard when the plaintiff produces images from Google Map’s Street View allegedly showing the sidewalk had been in poor condition for years prior to the plaintiff’s fall. If the court accepts the images, the plaintiff has a much stronger case that the village had constructive notice and plenty of time to make the repairs before the plaintiff fell. But do the images actually prove anything at all?

As defendants and plaintiffs rely more and more on potential evidence from internet- and satellite-based location imagery, it’s important for both sides of a case to understand how to introduce such evidence and how to limit or block it. 

Read more in the August issue of the Illinois Bar Journal.