The Importance of Eyewitnesses in a Car Accident Case
The more evidence you bring to your personal injury claim, the stronger your case will be. It is also important that you bring varied evidence to the table—and that’s why eyewitnesses are so helpful. Your understanding of your accident is a key piece of evidence, but it’s not enough to convince insurance companies.
Ready to find out how we can use eyewitness testimony to strengthen your claim? Call Gardner Law Firm at 228-900-9618 or 228-231-3855 to schedule your free case evaluation now.
Corroborating the Details of the Accident
The police, your insurance company, and the other party’s insurance company will want to hear your side of the story. However, that alone will not show the insurance company that you deserve compensation. Unless you can prove that the details you provided are correct, the other party’s insurance provider is unlikely to believe you.
If you have observant eyewitnesses, they will be able to back up your retelling of the accident. They can verify the big parts of your story—who had the green light, approximately how fast both parties were going, and the weather, for example—but they can also confirm the smaller details. They may note that the other driver was on their phone or that they saw you attempt to brake and avoid the accident, while the other party did not. The more evidence you have to back up your side of the story, the stronger your case will be.
Clearing Up Conflicting Stories
What happens when you say an accident happened one way and the other driver has a completely different version of events? In many cases, there’s physical evidence to back up one side or the other. But when the physical evidence is unclear or could go either way, you’ll need additional sources to make your account of events more credible than the other driver’s account.
A neutral eyewitness can help in this area. The insurance companies and attorneys will ask them for their observations. The information they provide often makes it abundantly clear who is telling the truth and who may be spinning the story in their favor. Note, though, that a neutral third party is usually more helpful in this area. While your family member or friend who was in the car with you can strengthen your case, insurance companies will be a bit more skeptical of their input.
Providing Additional Insight
You can only observe so much before and during a car accident. You likely missed important details that could provide context to the accident and how it occurred. This is another area where eyewitnesses can build up your case against the other driver.
Imagine, for example, that you are side-swiped by another driver who veered into your lane. All you know is that they hit you—you don’t know what type of a driver they are or what circumstances led to them hitting you. Now imagine that a driver several cars back was almost hit by this driver. They saw the other driver on their phone, swerving in and out of their own lane. If they tell that to your attorney, that provides additional evidence of the other party’s negligence.
Choosing Credible Witnesses
Eyewitness credibility is an essential part of your case. Witnesses without credibility can’t help your case. Even worse, they can harm your case, as the attorneys and insurance companies involved are likely to doubt all of the evidence you put forward.
Ideally, the eyewitnesses will be those who have no loyalty to either party in the case. Your passengers simply aren’t as credible as uninvolved bystanders. You’ll want to choose witnesses who were close enough to the accident to get a good look at what happened, as well as those whose retelling remains the same over time. If a witness’s story changes each time they’re asked or they can’t remember key details, they may not be helpful for your claim.
Get the Legal Guidance You Need with Gardner Law Firm
Our team knows how to use every piece of evidence to fight for the compensation you deserve. Let’s talk about your next steps—call our Biloxi office at 228-900-9618, call our Pascagoula office at 228-231-3855, or send us a message online.
