Do You Have a Witness to Your Accident?

If you have been involved in an accident and decide to make a personal injury claim, having a witness from the incident can be very valuable. This article will discuss the role witnesses can play in your personal injury claim.

It must be noted that witnesses are an asset when you are making a personal injury claim. Because they stand to support your version of events and may even be able to provide new information that can be used to prove who was at fault. There are two different kinds of witnesses; there are those who saw the events as they unfolded and those who may have seen the immediate aftermath of the event. Both these types of witnesses are essential to your case. The one who saw the events as they unfolded can describe how they happened, while the one who saw the accident’s immediate aftermath can confirm how you appeared after the accident. That is, injured, delirious, confused, etc.

However, as with all forms of evidence regarding witnesses, time is of the utmost importance. If you fail to contact a witness and have the information collected soon after the accident, this information may be lost. As with issues relating to time, memories might fade, and recollecting exact events can become a blur. When this happens, such information is not valid anymore.

During a car accident, passersbys who saw the accident or anyone who lives or works nearby may be very useful when it comes to your claim. This is because they may be able to provide you with helpful information. For example, they may inform you about a dangerous condition that caused accidents previously in the exact location. Further, they can verify your version of events with regards to how the accident happened.

To find witnesses, you need to return to the accident scene and speak to people who may live around the area or work in the line of sight of where the accident happened. Another good place to find witnesses is by looking at the police report. The police report provides witnesses by name, address and phone number. If you can find these witnesses and state who was at fault for the accident, it is essential to move quickly.

Take note of the following steps:

• Get as much information as possible – firstly, gather all the details of the witness, their names, physical address, home, work and cell phone number. If they provide you with more information, the better; some may even be willing to throw in their email address. The point is that you need them for the case. Therefore, it is important not to scare or irritate them.
• Talk about what they saw – speak to the witness about precisely what they saw and where exactly they were when they saw it. This gives credibility to the information they provide.
• If they are willing to, ask if it is ok to write what they told you and send it to them to check how accurate it is. Further, inform them that you may need a written statement from them.

For legal advice and representation, speak to a car accident lawyer in Bakersfield.