Relying on Witnesses For Your Car Accident Claim

Often, people assume they have a car accident claim nailed down because they believe it is obvious that the other party caused the accident. Even if you believe that it is clear you were the victim in the car accident, you cannot rely on this when you are filing a claim. Instead, your attorney will want to make sure you have solid evidence that proves the other party was responsible for the accident and that you deserve to receive damages. One way you can provide good evidence for this is if you have witnesses who are willing to give their statements. 

Can witnesses really help your claim

When you have witnesses to your accident, this can provide much-needed, third-party information that you may never have been able to provide. In fact, it is possible that a witness may have seen the other driver talking on the phone or texting when the accident occurred and you may have no idea that was why the accident happened. Witnesses can help:

• Provide a better, fuller picture when it comes to the circumstances surrounding the accident
• When you and the other party are both saying that different things happened during the accident
• Can confirm what you are saying is true or not

These are all incredibly valuable when it comes to arguing your claim and we cannot stress enough how important it is to get witnesses’ contact information if they are there during and after the accident. 

Are there times when a witness will not help with the accident claim 

Absolutely. Even if you were not responsible for the accident at all, a witness may not be helpful to your claim. This can happen if the witness is not credible. For example, most people do not go out searching for accidents to happen. This means that they may not have been fully paying attention when the accident occurred. If a witness offers to help but did not see the accident before it occurred or while it occurred, this may not be helpful to your claim. Further, if the witness is known for being dishonest, for making false claims to the police, or was intoxicated at the time of the accident, these will likely not help you when you make your claim. 

When you work with one of our attorneys, you know they will examine any witnesses you may have and determine if they will hurt or help your claim. Give our office a call if you want to learn more about how a witness could help your accident case.