The Importance of Witnesses in a Court Case

As an experienced personal injury lawyer Memphis, TN trusts, the number one piece of evidence that helps me settle or win a client’s case is credible independent eyewitness testimony.  You might not think that is hard to come by, but it is. In most cases, there are no available independent witnesses. Why? As a general matter, most people who witness an accident or an occurrence do not want to get involved.  Or, they are simply too busy to stop and help, or to otherwise offer assistance. Think about your daily life. You are busy. You are always in a hurry to get to one place or another. Maybe you are running late for work one morning and you see an accident. Would you stop and wait for the police or at least stop to give your name and contact information to the people involved in the accident? Most people simply drive on by and continue about their daily lives.

Sometimes even when witnesses are listed on a police incident report, they do not want to be involved. I can’t count the number of times I have tried to reach out to witnesses by telephone or letter without success. I have found that some people just don’t want to talk to lawyers.

This is where you can significantly help your lawyer advance your case.  If you are involved in an accident or incident and you think you may need to submit a claim or file a lawsuit one day, talk to the people around who saw it.  Ask them questions. Tell them you need their help. Not to “win” your case, but to tell the truth and give an account as to what happened. Not all court cases involve accidents. Sometimes a conversation or transaction or series of events can have a huge impact on a case, but if no one can testify to the events, it is as if it never happened.  If you give your lawyer a list of “witnesses” that you think can help with your case, realize that those people will naturally respond better to you– the person they know and have had contact with. You can help your lawyer by letting your witnesses know that your attorney will be reaching out to them to discuss what happened, and asking them to cooperate.  Another way you can help with gathering witness testimony and information is to write down notes about what each witness observed or might know, or how you believe they may be helpful to your case.

If you need help with a legal dispute or with a personal injury case, contact the personal injury lawyer today.

Thanks to our friends and contributors at Wiseman Bray PLLC who have significant experience fighting for injury victims in Tennessee.