How Witness Statements Can Benefit Auto Accident Cases

If you were injured in an auto accident cases and choose to pursue a personal injury case, you’ll have to have extensive data collected if you intend to fight for a fair settlement. One of the less universally perfect, but nonetheless extremely important, portions of the investigation process is that of gathering witness accounts. If you don’t do it immediately at the scene of the collision, you might miss out on this vital source of testimony. 

Of course, you don’t always need to gather witness testimonies on your own, especially while injured. Police, in the course of their investigation and reporting at the scene of the crash, can generally be trusted to consult any readily available witnesses and gather their information on your behalf, so never let the investigation process interfere with receiving prompt medical treatment, especially considering that failing to see a doctor can compromise your settlement.

How Eyewitnesses Can Help

Even with proper investigations, there simply isn’t enough hard evidence in many accidents to prove that the other driver was at fault, resulting in “he said, she said” situations where neither driver has much by way of proof. Witnesses can tip these vague scales in favor of the truth, by providing additional credibility to certain accounts and bringing details to light that neither driver might have mentioned.

Of course, there are also so-called “silent witnesses,” more commonly known as cameras. Video evidence of a collision can be far more impactful than a verbal account. These videos can stem from security cameras, yes, but they can also from cell phones, dash cams, and other such privately-owned video recording devices.

Issues with Eyewitness Accounts

Eyewitness testimonies aren’t as simple as someone at the scene saying what they think happened, they must be carefully collected and contain very specific data to avoid matters of bias and inaccuracy as best as possible. In general, all eyewitness testimonies are “admissible” in Arizona car accident cases, but in order to be relevant, beneficial evidence, they must be free of contamination and secondhand data. 

Additionally, the memories and accounts of individuals who witness car accidents are not as infallible as they might seem, even when the witness themself claims to be absolutely confident or to have a very vivid memory. All eyewitnesses are prone to accidental fabrication, exaggeration, vagueness, omission, and bias, and as such, eyewitness testimonies are only especially valuable when corroborated by evidence and other unaffiliated testimonies.  

Other Components of Arizona Auto Accident Cases

As mentioned initially, eyewitnesses are only a small, but important portion of a strong car accident claim. The rest of the claims process can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be such a difficult affair—by giving us a call at (623) 877-3600, you can let one of ELG’s auto accident attorneys in Arizona handle the tedium and challenges that a claim brings, giving you time to focus on your recovery while we secure you the extensive compensation you deserve from your personal injury claim.