Witnesses are critical. They are the meat of your case.
In most cases, proof consists of not only what the witnesses say but also exhibits. Those exhibits most often are pieces of paper.
The purpose of this blogpost is not to address the pieces of paper but rather to address the witnesses.
How to Locate Witnesses After a Car Accident
The most important source is probably going to be the police officer who signed off on the Police Report. Most officers do not list witnesses on the report but the officer may have private notes as to the names and contact information of the witnesses. It’s important to get that information. Most officers will give that to you voluntarily. If they will not give it to you voluntarily, once a lawsuit is filed, you need to subpoena that information.
You should promptly get a letter out to the officer requesting that information and also further requesting that he retain that information. That is, you don’t want the officer throwing away whatever notes may exist as to the identity of those witnesses.
Another important source of information may be the 911 contact information. You should get a FOIA request out to the 911 dispatch service requesting all of the logs and transcripts of incoming calls relating to the crash. Those 911 calls may contain the identity of witnesses who called in about the crash.
You also want to do a FOIA request to the police department for all of their computerized data and transcripts of communications relating to the crash. All of that may have information as to witnesses.
Finally you want to do a survey of the scene to determine whether or not there were any cameras that may have covered the area of the crash. Those cameras may be your best witness. If there are cameras then you need to identify the owner and see if that owner will voluntarily turn over the information. If the cameras are publicly held, then you need to make a FOIA request to that governmental entity to get the camera footage of the crash.
Tips for Contacting and Interviewing Witnesses
Sometimes witnesses are reluctant to speak with attorneys. That is natural. The best way to contact them is initially at least through a phone call. Follow that up with a letter or email communication confirming who you are. Then tell the witness that what you’d like to do is take a recorded statement from them as to what they know about the incident. You need to disclose on the recorded statement that it is being recorded.
Your interview of the witness should be open-ended. Do not ask leading questions. Ask questions that get the witness speaking as to what they recall. Their memory may be foggy of the incident. The more they talk about it, the more bits of information may surface from whatever may be in their memory bank.
How to Build Trust and Reassure Witnesses
Any witness to a crash is concerned as to what their involvement may mean. Are they going to be called into court as a witness? They may be. You need to disclose that if they ask. They need to be assured that if they are called as a witness that you will be able to work around their schedule. Further assure them that you will do everything to accommodate their schedule.
Their role is simply as a citizen. They are being called upon to simply state what they know. They’re not being asked to state anything that is false. Nor are they being asked to make up anything. They are simply being asked to come forward as a good citizen and tell the court or other decision-maker what they saw and what they heard.
Most people will accommodate you.
Legal Guidance for Vehicle Accident Witness Testimonies
Call, or contact us today for a free consultation. Also for more info on witnesses vehicle accident claims see the Wikipedia pages. Also see the post on this site dealing with witness issues.
