The Essential Role of Witness Statements in Personal Injury Cases

If you’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence, you can seek compensation in a personal injury claim. Successful claims hinge on the available evidence, and witness statements are often a primary source of valuable evidence. If another person or party’s negligence leaves you injured in an accident, it’s time to consult with an experienced Nova Scotia personal injury lawyer.

Importance of Witness Statements

Eyewitness testimony is very important in establishing or explaining how an accident happened, which can go a long way toward bolstering personal injury claims. Often in claims for personal injury, the negligence or how the accident happened is in debate as each party often claim the accident was not their fault. However, if someone else witnessed the accident unfold, it can instrumental in proving your claim.

Eyewitnesses have direct knowledge regarding information relevant to your claim – while expert witnesses have specialized knowledge regarding the specifics involved. Both forms can prove invaluable when it comes to obtaining fair compensation in a personal injury claim.

Proving Liability

The elements that are necessary for successful personal injury claims include all the following:

• The other party owed you a duty of care, which means they had a responsibility to your safety. A prime example of this is the immense responsibility we all owe one another when we get behind the wheel of our cars.
• The other party breached the duty of care they owed you, which refers to their negligence. For example, if you were injured by a negligent driver in a motorcycle, truck, or car accident, their distraction, impairment, excess speed, failure to follow the rules of the road, or aggression are likely to be the culprit.
• The other party’s negligence directly caused the accident in question.
• You suffered legal damages as a result.

Proving liability comes down to demonstrating that the other party was negligent and that their negligence was the direct cause of your losses. Making this connection can be very challenging, but having statements from credible witnesses backing you up can be highly effective.

The testimony of an accident reconstruction expert is another form of corroborating evidence that can help you make your point about the other party’s liability. Accident reconstruction models map out the details of accidents, which can make them easier to visualize and can help establish liability in the process.

Additionally, the corresponding accident or police report can be a vital form of testimony. If the police officer also writes a ticket in response to the other party’s negligence, such as after a traffic accident, it can afford additional evidence that speaks directly to liability.

Physical evidence can also be evidentiary. Physical evidence refers to any tangible evidence that’s left at the scene of the accident. For example, skid marks, paint transfer from one vehicle to another, and the positions in which the vehicles land in a traffic crash can all help prove liability.

Estimating Damages

In order for your personal injury claim to effectively address the full range of losses you’ve experienced, you’ll need to effectively establish your damages in each type of loss. These can include, but are not limited to, property damage – such as to your vehicle in a traffic accident(in some circumstances) – medical bills, lost wages, and both physical and emotional pain and suffering.

When it comes to proving the extent of your losses, which your settlement will be based upon, expert opinions can have a considerable impact. For example, a medical professional may testify regarding the severity of the injuries you’ve suffered, the associated medical costs, and the degree to which your life has been affected. And your medical records will also help in establishing this loss.

Strengthening a Personal Injury Case

The role that witness statements play in personal injury cases is difficult to overstate. Interviewing witnesses and obtaining recorded or written statements can mean the difference between substantiating your claim and failing to do so, which can be the difference between obtaining just compensation and a failure to recover anything.

Bringing your strongest claim is key, and to do so, you need the skilled legal counsel of a resourceful Nova Scotia personal injury lawyer in your corner.

Who Can Be Your Witness?

The Canada Evidence Act and the case law help to establish who can serve as witnesses and what evidence can be admitted into personal injury lawsuits – which are civil cases. Witness statements are formal statements that individuals make regarding what they saw or heard in specific situations.

Eyewitnesses

Generally, a witness in a personal injury case is someone who saw the accident take place. They can also, however, come along after the fact but still have relevant information to share, such as regarding property damage or the injuries that accident victim’s sustained.

Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses refer to witnesses with professional expertise in topics that are relevant to the cases at hand. This can be a medical professional in a field that relates to your injuries, an engineer with knowledge of the mechanics of the accident you were injured in, or an accident reconstruction professional who recreates the details of your accident in visual form, which is generally done electronically.

The information addressed in personal injury claims is often dry and highly technical, and expert witnesses can help make the information more accessible for the judge or jury hearing the case. It should be noted that not all professionals in any given field qualify as experts when it comes to testifying in court. This is a matter that the court determines prior to trial.

Character Witnesses

Character witnesses, who are sometimes called familiar or lay witnesses, can also make a serious difference when it comes to establishing the extent of your losses. These are people who know you well, and who – as such – can testify regarding how seriously your life has been affected by the accident that caused you to be injured. This can speak to financial losses as well as physical and emotional pain and suffering.

How to Collect Witness Statements

Immediately following an accident is generally the best time to get busy collecting witness statements, but in the aftermath of an accident in which you were injured isn’t likely to be the best time for you. The good news is that bystanders at the scene – who are potential witnesses – are likely to chip in spontaneously, such as by providing statements and contact information to the police in attendance.

If you’re able, you can also enlist someone at the scene to help you out. This includes taking statements and gathering contact information that your dedicated Nova Scotia personal injury lawyer will follow up on as you move forward through the legal proceedings.

The bottom line is that personal injury claims can be daunting, but help is available. Having professional representation backing you can make a serious difference in the outcome of your claim, which – in turn – can make an important difference in your future.

When to Approach a Witness

If you know that there were witnesses nearby during the accident that caused you to be injured, it’s important to find them. While the best time to gather witness statements is in the immediate wake of the accident, you may not be in any position to make this happen. If you are able to record statements and contact information on your phone, don’t hesitate to do so. If, however, you’re not, you may be able to enlist a bystander to take over on your behalf.

Many people are more than willing to share what they’ve seen following a dramatic accident, and locating them after the fact is sometimes possible. For example, some witnesses come forward proactively on social media or on community forums – sharing details in the event that the information proves helpful. You can also seek them out on social media – encouraging anyone who may have seen the accident to make a statement.

The more witness statements you have that corroborate your version of events, the stronger your claim will be, and the more likely the involved insurance company is to engage in fair negotiations – rather than doubling down with arguments about who caused the accident. Even one solid witness statement that aligns with your memories of how the accident happened can make a powerful difference in how your claim is resolved.

In fact, witness statements can be so important to your legal case that it’s worth putting in the effort to gather this valuable information by whatever means available to you. And your formidable personal injury lawyer has the skill and legal insight to help.

What to Do If a Witness Doesn’t Want to Make a Statement

If you know that someone witnessed the accident that caused you to be injured, you can ask them to make a statement, but you can’t force them. No one is obligated to come forward with witness statements, and while you can appeal to their sense of right and wrong, that is where your options end.

You may be able to subpoena them to attend a trial, but if they are not willing to agree, it could be a risk to force them to attend.

In the end, you can let witnesses know how important their statements could be to your claim and can politely ask them to help out. You should not, however, cajole or attempt to bribe anyone into doing anything that they’re not comfortable with. First of all, it’s unlikely to do you any good, and any pressure you do employ could negatively affect their credibility as a witness.

Things You Should Not Say to a Witness

The value of witness statements is that they come from the perspective of a neutral third party who has nothing to gain by getting involved. This fortifies their credibility and strengthens your claim. In other words, you want their honest account of exactly what they saw and heard, and any coaching from you can negate any benefits to your claim.

To ensure that the witness statement has the potential to help you, you shouldn’t tell them what to say, shouldn’t ask them to leave anything out or to gloss over anything, and shouldn’t in any other way attempt to guide their testimony. You want to build a strong claim, but you need to do it the right way, and witness credibility is critical.

Credibility of Witness Statements

While having 10 perfect witnesses who all make statements that are in perfect unison with your own version of events would be ideal, this generally isn’t how accident claims work. Memories can morph, the stress of the situation can make retrieving memories challenging, and even the viewer’s perspective can alter their perception of the accident.

The most important thing when it comes to witness statements is the credibility – or the trustworthiness and believability – of the witness. In order to pass the credibility test, however, the witness doesn’t have to be a perfect person. Instead, your seasoned lawyer will carefully address each of the following factors in relation to the person or people whose statements back up your claim:

• How they happened to witness the accident in question – such as if they were a pedestrian who saw a traffic accident or an employee who witnessed a slip and fall accident in a store
• The part of the accident they witnessed – such as if they saw the entire thing unfold or only saw a specific part of it
• The witness’ neutrality on the matter, including that they aren’t related to or aren’t closely involved with the parties to the accident – as applicable
• The witness’ clean record – or any criminal record they may have

Your witness needn’t be a saint to make a credible statement that bolsters your claim. It is, however, important not to gloss over any issues that may be concerns. For example, if your eyewitness happened to be your lunch date who saw you slip, fall, and be injured as a result of a spill that the restaurant left unattended, their statement can still help you and your claim. Attempting to play down the fact that they’re not a neutral third party, however, will not.

Every personal injury claim is unique to the circumstances involved, and determining the best path forward toward a favourable resolution requires careful analysis of your specific situation. Your compassionate personal injury lawyer will spare no effort in their focused pursuit of a solid claim that protects your rights, which includes incorporating strong witness statements that work on your behalf.

How Our Nova Scotia Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help

If someone else’s negligence leaves you injured in an accident of any kind, having witness statements in your corner can make a serious difference. The persuasive Nova Scotia personal injury lawyers at Preszler Injury Lawyers take great pride in our impressive track record for guiding challenging claims like yours toward optimal outcomes, and this includes obtaining highly effective witness testimony. Your future is too important to leave to chance, so please don’t wait to contact or call us at 833-586-8282 for more information about what we can do to help you today.