After a car accident, anyone who was present at the accident scene qualifies as a witness in a car accident case. But figuring out how to choose witnesses so they benefit your case can be difficult.
At Laborde Earles, our Lafayette car accident lawyer can help you understand who can be a witness and how to be successful in choosing your car accident witnesses. Read on to learn more about witnesses in car accident cases.
Anyone Who Saw the Accident Is an Acceptable Witness
Determining who can be a witness in a car accident case can seem difficult, but it’s quite simple. As long as the person was present at the accident scene, they can be a witness. Some common people that can be a witness in a car accident case include:
Family Members
Having family members testify as witnesses in your car accident case can help personalize your situation for a judge or jury. They can describe your role and responsibilities within your family, such as caring for children or elders. This helps establish the non-economic impacts of your injuries, such as your inability to participate in familial activities and obligations. Family is also often trusted by default, helping lend credibility to their accounts.
Family members like a spouse or parent would have intimate knowledge of changes to your health, behavior, routines, and daily life following an accident. They observe long-term effects that medical records alone don’t capture. Powerful testimony about how injuries continue affecting you and your loved ones at home can bolster the argument for fair compensation.
Friends
Friends provide objective witness perspectives outside your family unit. Their pre-accident observations of your abilities, personality, and independence can effectively underscore the lasting impacts injuries have inflicted. Friends may also have social plans they included you in before that are now difficult or impossible.
Consistent interactions with friends allow them to notice subtle ways chronic issues like pain, fatigue, or mobility limitations silently affect you outside of formal medical treatment. Friend witness descriptions augment the argument that noneconomic damages like reduced quality of life justify higher settlement amounts.
Co-Workers
Co-workers see your condition and capabilities in a workplace context. They can confirm your job duties before and comment on changes necessitated by accident-caused impairments or absences. Productivity losses, difficulties performing physical tasks, and needing extra breaks and substitutions are tangible impacts co-workers observe daily.
As objective professional colleagues, co-worker testimony carries weight with fact finders. Explaining accommodation needs or how injuries now affect career progress helps bolster claims for lost wages and future medical costs and shows damages extend beyond mere pain and suffering.
Passengers
A passenger witness provides one of the most informed perspectives available: a first-hand account from someone sharing the vehicle during the crash itself. They observe facts like road conditions, traffic signals, other vehicle actions, and your driving just before and during impact. With their observations, they could prove someone was speeding in the accident or under the influence.
Passengers also experience the actual collision event and can testify to resultant reactions, sounds, movements within the vehicle, and visible injuries or distress immediately after. Their recalled “front seat” vantage point bolsters evidence establishing how the accident occurred and who was at fault from the beginning.
Laborde Earles injury was great for me they took care of me very fast and professional. If for any reason I need legal help they will be who I use.
ClientHow Can a Lawyer Help Prepare Witnesses for Trial?
The trial process can be an intimidating experience, especially for witnesses in a car accident case who have never been in a courtroom before. Witnesses may need guidance on what to expect and how to handle themselves to present the strongest, most convincing testimony possible. This is where an experienced personal injury lawyer in Lafayette can provide invaluable assistance.
Our attorneys at Laborde Earles are skilled at preparing witnesses for trial. We meet with witnesses well in advance to explain trial procedures and what their role will be. This helps ease any nerves about the unfamiliar setting and format. We also go over the specifics of the case, exactly what each witness should focus on from their own experience or observations, and anticipate potential questions from opposing counsel.
Knowing how to conduct themselves and tell their “story” in a clear, confident manner for the jury is key. Our mock trials and practice questions help witnesses feel comfortable and ensure they deliver their most effective testimony when it counts. Proper and effective witness preparation by our legal team gives their evidence optimal credibility and influence with fact-finders.
I thank God for Digger & David. I don’t know what we would have done if it hadn’t have been for them.
Rick Smith | ClientWhy Credibility Matters for Car Accident Witnesses
The credibility and reliability of witnesses in car accident cases are essential in any personal injury case resulting from a car accident. Insurance companies will look for ways to challenge or undermine witness statements, so credibility takes on heightened importance.
There are a few key reasons why maintaining high credibility is important:
- Credible witnesses are more likely to be believed by a judge or jury over others with questionable credibility.
- Lack of credibility opens the door for defense attorneys to discredit testimony through cross-examination.
- Witness consistency and lack of biases or motives suggest they are providing an accurate account rather than a skewed recollection.
- Credibility impacts how much “weight” or consideration is given to a witness’s testimony when evaluating evidence and determining fault or damages.
Our lawyers diligently screen for any credibility red flags in potential witnesses in your car accident case, such as prior convictions, biased relationships, or inconsistent statements. Issues reflecting poorly on their truthfulness jeopardize how persuasive their evidence is.
Supporting your claim requires having witnesses viewed as honest, reliable observers by fact-finders. Their believability can make or break the outcome of a case.
The reassurance from Digger and his staff gave me that renewed hope that it’s going to be okay down the road.
ClientWhat Are Expert Witnesses, and How Can They Help Your Case?
For some personal injury cases, it may be necessary to retain expert witnesses who have specialized knowledge or skills beyond that of an average person. These experts can provide crucial evidence to support your claim.
Some common types of expert witnesses in car accident cases include:
- Accident reconstructionists analyze crash scenes, vehicle damage, and driver behaviors to determine the causes of the collision.
- Medical doctors who can explain the nature and extent of your injuries to the court in medical terms.
- Economists who calculate your past and future medical costs, lost income, wages, and other economic damages.
- Occupational experts who evaluate your ability to work and earn an income given your injuries.
Our Lafayette car accident attorneys work with a network of qualified experts who are familiar with Louisiana standards. Their expert testimony and reports lend significant credibility and back up your claim of liability, injuries, and deserved compensation. Having the guidance of experts strengthens your case against the defense’s arguments.
They treated us like no other people would. Whenever we needed something they were there for us. I put my trust in them and I don’t regret it.
ClientLearn More About Who Can Be a Witness in a Car Accident Case
Our Lafayette car accident attorneys at Laborde Earles can help you choose witnesses in a car accident case and fight for you to receive the compensation you need. We’re ready to answer any questions you may have about who can be a witness in a car accident case.
Contact us to learn more about who can be a witness in a car accident case.
