When you get behind the wheel of a car, you tend to focus on what is right in front of you and any passengers you may have in your car. It is not always easy to understand the conditions that lead to a car accident. This is where witnesses come into play. While witnesses are not always essential in a post-accident civil case, both professional and bystander testimony can help you when you bring your losses and questions of liability before an attending court.
What Role Can a Witness Play after a Car Accident?
Car accident witnesses serve several different purposes. Depending on what these individuals saw at the time of an accident, they can help establish liability or detail a person’s perceived losses. That being said, not everyone who witnesses a car accident needs to come into court. Instead, parties interested in pursuing a post-accident civil case can discuss the benefits of attending witnesses (and how to choose them) with a car accident attorney.
Do Injured Parties Need to Pay Their Witnesses?
There are two types of witnesses that an injured party may bring to the stand in a car accident case. Bystander witnesses are regular, everyday people who may have seen the accident unfold. These parties can offer non-professional opinions on the circumstances that led up to the accident and the behaviors of all parties involved. The injured party, in turn, does not need to compensate a bystander witness for their time in court.
On the other hand, professional witnesses can include medical professionals who helped someone recover after an accident or analysts who can detail the importance of certain pieces of evidence. Attorneys will often connect an injured party with professional witnesses if they believe a case will benefit from an outside opinion. Injured parties must pay professional witnesses for their time, as courts consider such testimony to come with the backing of their professional expertise.
When Can Injured Parties Contact Witnesses for Statements?
If the circumstances at the scene of an accident allow for it, injured parties should gather any witnesses’ contact information as soon as possible. The injured party does not have to reach out to each individual witness. Instead, parties interested in pursuing a civil suit can hand off a witness’s contact information to an attending attorney. In turn, that legal professional can determine which perspectives may be of value and how best to integrate that witness into a trial.
Let a Waring Law Car Accident Attorney Contact Your Case Witnesses
You do not have to manage witness communication after your car accident. If you need to call in people from the scene or other professionals to uphold your statements in court, you can lean on your car accident attorney. The attorneys at Waring Law can help you bring in the best people to represent your side of the case, all without putting additional stress on your shoulders.
For more information about the legal rights available to you after a car accident, you can schedule a consultation with a Waring Law car accident attorney. You can call (954) 388-0646 or reach out online to learn more.