Personal Injury Witness Interviews
The testimony of a credible witness can make or break your personal injury case. Whether a third party has overheard someone else admitting to fault, gleaned some measure of insider knowledge or been on the scene as your accident occurred, the evidence that he or she brings to light can be of invaluable assistance. Such testimony can often provide information of which you yourself may not have been fully aware.
Why Delays Can Cost You
The lawyer who lets too much time elapse between accident and interview may have problems unearthing people with relevant facts or figures to give. Worse, the once-clear memories of those your attorney does find might already have faded to fuzziness. For these reasons, a good personal injury attorney will seek out and consult with witnesses at the earliest opportunity. The experts at Weiner Law Group understand the importance of getting all pertinent statements as early in the process as possible.
When Your Witnesses are Strangers
Outsiders with no personal interest in your case can often make the strongest witnesses. However, although their presumed lack of bias lends weight to their testimony, finding these people may prove difficult. The experienced injury attorney will start with a trip to the scene of the accident, speaking with people who work or live at or close to the scene. Some of them may have actually observed your accident as it happened. Others might provide information concerning pre-existing situations or prior accidents that have occurred there on previous occasions.
The police report, if there is one, can be another source of valuable information. In addition to providing vital details, it will often list the names and contact information of witnesses who happened to be right on the scene at the time.
When You Know the Witnesses Personally
Under some circumstances, you may enjoy a connection with the witnesses to your mishap. Whether they are friends, relatives or mere acquaintances, they should not be hard to locate, and any testimony they might give will probably be in your favor.
However, the memories of those with whom you are close are as apt as anyone else’s to fade, and an expert personal injury attorney will conduct their interviews in the timeliest fashion possible. Any testimony given within days of the incident has a far greater chance of standing up in court.
When the Witnesses are Uncooperative
An injury attorney who uses tact and persistence can often obtain the information he needs from even the most obstinate witness. In some cases, however, he will need to issue a subpoena. While mere threats of doing this will often prove sufficient, there will always be the recalcitrant witness who refuses to talk unless legally compelled to do so. The subpoena provides your attorney with the authority he needs to take someone’s statement under oath at a deposition, and a good one will take advantage of the influence it provides.
Why Eyewitness Testimony Matters
In the process of litigating any personal injury suit, the claimant’s attorney must not only prove his client’s declaration of injury but also establish that the client was not in any way responsible for having caused the accident. If the plaintiff’s own carelessness or inattention should have played any part at all, the attorney must still prove that he or she was less than 50 percent to blame.
This is particularly important in the state of Nevada, where the percentage of blame that lies at the feet of the injured party will, if proven in a court of law, reduce any settlement by an equal proportion. Even worse, if the courts should find the claimant to have been more than 50 percent at fault, he or she will receive no financial award whatsoever. Eyewitness testimony therefore becomes an invaluable and sometimes single means of showing where the fault for any accident truly lies.
Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys
The experts at Weiner Law Group have years of experience in gaining eyewitness testimony. Through our skillful use of tactful questioning methods, we are often able to glean the information that others might find impossible to obtain.
If you have suffered personal injury in an accident and are considering filing suit, speak to the lawyers who understand and respect the importance of timely testimony. Let the attorneys at Weiner Law get an immediate start in handling your case. Call us today at 702-202-0500 or fill out our contact form.