Car accidents can cause permanent bodily harm or in the worst case scenario even death. Road signs, rules, and regulations have been put in place to help mitigate the risks, but car accidents remain a leading cause of death or injury. Law enforcement officers are known to be strict when accidents happen as they try to determine fault and place the blame on motorists whom they believe do not follow the applicable rules.
The authorities will often question the credibility of your side of the story and will see it as your way of trying to get out of trouble. This article discusses the importance of witness information in car accident cases.
The Value of a Witness in a Car Accident
For any case to be determined fairly, a judge or jury must be presented with sufficient evidence. When one is involved in an auto smashup, they must prove to a court that it happened due to another party’s negligence and not theirs. Doing so can be hard, especially if no other person can testify. Locating a witness and asking them to write down their statements can be of great help. The witness is considered to be neutral since they are usually not related or connected to the parties in any way.
A witness also comes in handy when you file for personal injury claims with an insurance company or when you require compensation from the other party. Before any payments can be made, concrete evidence must be provided. Similar to a court of law, insurance companies also prefer to hear the truth from a third party who must not be related or connected in any way to you.
A car accident may have a witness that is not human. This includes videos from dash cams or businesses and even surveillance videos on traffic signs. A video provides more concrete evidence than any other type of evidence. It can save you from hefty penalties like fines or incarceration. Any video evidence should be shared with your lawyer who will ensure that the content is legitimate and beneficial to your case before presenting it in a legal hearing.
How to Identify a Witness
You may not have seen anyone during an accident, so it may be hard to know who can testify or give their statement as a witness. In some car accidents cases, witnesses show up at police stations and are willing to record what they saw, but sometimes, no one comes forward.
Your lawyer and his team must go back to the scene of the accident and talk to business operators or homeowners in the area. Some may have seen the accident occur and will be able to help your attorney prepare your case.
If it is hard or impossible to locate a witness from the crash scene, a lawyer can ask for the police report regarding the crash. The officer who responded to the crash may have recorded statements from onlookers. The report can help your attorney identify and even persuade a witness to testify.
Useful Information that a Witness can Provide
Some of the questions a witness has to answer about a car accident include:
- When did they arrive at the scene of the crash
- What were they doing when the incident took place
- The estimated speed of the car or cars in question
- To describe the environmental or climatic conditions at the time of the accident
Conclusion
It is evident that witness statements are critical in all auto accident situations. Call our law offices today at any of our convenient locations and get a free consultation.
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