In a car accident case, victims must prove that another party was at fault to recover compensation, which is where witness statements can play a critical role. Reliable, credible witnesses can help identify a liable driver or another party in an accident claim.
To build a car accident case in Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana, call Young, Reverman & Bolotin at 513-400-0000 to schedule a free consultation.
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How Witness Statements Help Establish Fault in Car Accidents
According to data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, there were 1,076 fatal accidents in a recent year that resulted in 1,156 deaths. Many of these accidents resulted from negligence that witnesses could have proven in car accident cases, holding the right people accountable for their actions.
Witness testimony could be among the most important evidence in a car accident claim, depending on whom the testimony is from and his or her overall credibility. Witness statements may provide insurance companies and other parties with an objective, unbiased version of events that could support your account and the supplemental evidence you’ve collected.
For example, one or more witnesses could confirm that a driver made an illegal left turn at a light and caused an accident with another vehicle when video footage or photos might not make this negligence as clear otherwise.
What Makes a Witness Credible in a Personal Injury Case?
There are multiple factors that can affect a witness’s credibility in a case, including:
- Bias and Conflicts of Interest: If a witness is related to one of the parties involved, there could be bias in the witness’s statement. For example, a witness might be a family member or friend of a driver who was in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
- Physical or Mental Condition: The witness’s mental or physical state may also affect credibility. For instance, a witness might have impaired vision that limits the witness’s perspective, or the person could suffer from dementia or another mental illness that renders their statement incredible.
- No Contradictions or Inconsistencies: Another factor to consider is whether the witness’s perspective has inconsistencies through changing stories, or if there are contradictions between the statement and other evidence.
- Demeanor and Background: The witness’s overall demeanor and criminal background may help determine credibility, as a witness with a calm and collected demeanor and no criminal history will come across as far more credible than a witness who appears emotionally unstable or with a criminal record.
- Overall Perspective: The location and the portion of an event witnessed might further dictate whether a witness is reliable. A credible witness would have seen the accident from a clear vantage point and observed all or the majority of the incident, as opposed to a brief instant.
Types of Witnesses That Strengthen Personal Injury Cases
There are two main types of witnesses that could impact the outcome of a car accident case. These include:
Third-Party Eyewitnesses
In most car accident cases involving witness statements, the statements will come from eyewitness testimony involving people who witnessed the accident. They may provide a detailed account for use in an initial police report that can go a long way in proving liability after a car accident.
Expert Witnesses
In rarer instances, a car accident lawyer could hire an expert witness to reconstruct the events of the accident to better determine who was responsible. These experts tend to get involved in more serious lawsuits where liability is in dispute.
Get Help From an Experienced Car Accident Attorney
To get the best possible results from a car accident claim, it helps to have a reputable car accident lawyer by your side. While witnesses might provide initial testimony in a police report, an attorney could get in touch with these witnesses to confirm their statements. Additionally, an attorney could hire expert witnesses to present in court if you are otherwise unable to settle a car accident claim. An experienced lawyer will ultimately help build a strong claim with witness testimony in addition to plenty of other evidence, working to ensure that the statement does not contradict other pieces of evidence or lack credibility.
Yet another way a lawyer could help is by calculating all the damages involved in your case. This can include economic damages like medical expenses and lost income, as well as non-economic damages such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. The key is hiring the right lawyer to represent you in a car accident claim or lawsuit. It’s important to have an attorney with years of experience handling similar car accident cases and with a proven track record of success.
A good attorney could make all the difference when proving liability after a car accident and enabling you to recover total compensation. For help from a dependable car accident attorney in Cincinnati, OH, Florence, KY, or Lawrenceberg, IN, contact us at Young, Reverman & Bolotin today.
FAQs About Proving Fault in a Car Crash
What Evidence Helps Determine Fault After an Accident?
In addition to witness statements, many other types of evidence could help prove fault, including police reports, photos and video footage of the accident scene, medical records, and physical evidence from the scene.
How Does Witness Credibility Affect a Car Accident Claim?
A witness must appear credible for his or her statement to prove fault in a car accident case, with credibility coming in the form of an impartial account of the accident and the ability to corroborate the facts of the case with the statement.
Are Witness Statements Strong Evidence?
In some cases, witness statements can provide strong evidence to support other types of evidence in car accident claims, particularly if the witness is an objective third party with a detailed account of the accident.
