Plaintiffs of accident claims approach eyewitnesses to give a written statement about what they saw at the accident site.
As a witness, you may have given an oral statement regarding the accident to the police, victims, etc. But, the plaintiff will ask for your witness statement as per the legal advice given by the attorney
The witness statement is a crucial piece of evidence that proves who is at fault in an accident. If you have queries regarding how to write a witness statement, continue reading the following guide.
What is a witness statement?
It is a written document that explains the accident from the witness’s perspective.
What is the significance of the witness statement?
A witness statement gives an account of what the witness saw. No two witness statements are the same because the statement reflects the perspective of the witness.
Each person will have a different narrative about the accident. Similarly, what a person will observe during the accident will differ.
For instance, one witness might have noticed the exact time of the accident, and another might have observed how many got injured.
By talking to different witnesses, the attorney can collect specific information on what happened during the accident.
These authentic pieces of information help a road accident reconstruction specialist give a sequence of events of the accident day.
What to include in the witness statement?
The three must-haves in a witness statement are name, contact details, and signature.
The witness statement should narrate the exact sequence of events the witness saw when the accident occurred. As a witness, try to provide specific information about what you saw. You might not know what can be helpful for the attorney to win the case for the victim.
A witness statement can turn the case over. For instance, in a rear-end collision, a witness statement can prove that the front car driver is at fault or vice-versa. It will change the presumption that the rear-end driver is at fault in rear-end collisions.
Concluding thoughts
A witness statement is crucial in any accident claim case. As a witness, the best thing you can contribute to the incident is by writing the witness statement.
If you are still confused about writing a witness statement, you can contact an attorney to assist you with it. You can either contact the plaintiff’s attorney or another lawyer you know.
So, without further ado, contact an attorney and start with the witness statement at the earliest.