Witness statements are used in various areas of the law. When it comes to car accidents, they can be a critical piece of evidence in determining liability. In other words, collecting witness statements after being involved in a car crash can help you prove that you were not at-fault, and therefore, not liable for any losses or damages. Furthermore, such evidence can help support your claim for compensation to cover your personal damages and losses that resulted from the car accident.
Continue reading to learn more about gathering witness statements after a car accident, including where to find seasoned personal injury representation in Central Indiana.
What To Do After a Car Accident
Your first priority after being involved in a car accident is medical care. Be examined and treated by on-site EMT’s, as well as, your own personal doctor and/or specialists the same day. Accordingly, be sure to keep all records and documents of medical visits, diagnosis’, and treatment.
In less serious car accidents in which you are not unconscious or incapacitated, you can collect your own witness statements after being initially treated on-site. Otherwise, ask someone for assistance to complete the task for you. This could be a police officer, passenger, or anyone else you trust to collect accurate information.
Who do you ask? Anyone that might have seen the accident. This includes pedestrians, road workers, drivers, passengers of either party’s vehicle, restaurant workers, and similar onlookers. You do not need to go into a heavy interview process, but rather, collect witness contact information and reach out to them the next day for their official accounts of the accident.
What do you ask? As mentioned, you do not have to make a full day of interviewing witnesses. Instead, you can simply take down their name, phone number, email address, and if they oblige, even a work number and home address. With this information, you or someone you trust can contact these individuals and ask them to describe their account of the accident.
Keep in mind, the sooner you collect witness statements, the more accurate the information will be. People have busy lives, and even one day in passing can jeopardize their recollection of what too place when the car accident happened. It is strongly recommended to get witness statements at the scene of the accident.
You see, Indiana is a comparative negligence state, which means it is possible for both parties to have liability in a car accident, and yet, both collect compensation for their losses. See our blog, “What is Comparative Fault Analysis in a Personal Injury Case?” to understand this legal principal better. What does this mean for you as a victim of a car accident? It means you must protect yourself by acting fast and getting the evidence you need to prove your claim and avoid being falsely deemed “partially at-fault.”
How Witness Statements are Used
Witness statements can be used by both insurance companies and courts as evidence to determine fault in a car accident case. This is why they are so important, especially when personal injuries and property damages are at play. If you want to ensure you are fairly compensated for your losses and damages after being injured in a car accident that was not your fault, be sure to hire a qualified Indianapolis personal injury law firm to deal with the insurance claim proceedings for you.
Indiana Car Accident Lawyers You Can Trust
Call The Law office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to file a personal injury car accident claim in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our seasoned personal injury lawyers are eager to recover the full and fair compensation you deserve after being injured in a car accident. We offer free initial consultations and never collect attorney fees unless we recover for you.