Unless you’re driving on a deserted road or at an unusual hour, if you’re involved in a car accident, there are more than likely going to be witnesses. According to Driver Knowledge, the average number of car accidents each year is around 6 million, meaning there are also millions of witnesses to these crashes. According to a Portland car accident lawyer at DuBois Law Group, witnesses play a crucial role in the preceding events of a collision and their testimony of the events can have a major impact on how the authorities, insurance companies, and legal team respond to the crash, which can affect your personal injury or car accident claim. Therefore, it’s always important to get their side of the story. Don’t know what to ask? Here are some key questions to ask anyone that may have seen the accident take place.
From Your Perspective, How Did The Crash Happen?
Asking this is a good way to understand what someone thinks they might have seen. It is an open-ended question that isn’t accusatory of any party. You are simply asking an outsider’s side of the story without trying to put the blame on the other driver.
Where Were You When The Accident Happened?
Not every person that you speak to will have had the best view of what happened. But, if you ask enough people that were in different spots in relation to the crash, it can help you to reconstruct the accident as a whole. Plus, asking multiple people where they were might help you identify who was the closest and might have the most reliable interpretation of the event.
Do You Know Anyone Involved In The Accident?
By checking to see if a witness knows anyone involved in the accident can help to eliminate any bias in a testimonial. If it turns out that their family member or best friend might have been in the other car, it’s possible they may add or leave out information in order to protect the other party.
Can I Have Your Contact Information To Reach You Again?
Rarely will you be able to get the whole story of what happened by talking to an individual or a group of people in a single conversation. This is especially true after a stressful situation such as a car accident. That’s why it’s important that you also take any witnesses’ information that you talk to in case you need to speak to them again or provide it to your car accident lawyer so they can perform follow-up questions.
Did You Notice Anything Of Note?
This question may be able to help paint a more clear picture of what happened. Asking a witness may lead them to recall that one of the drivers was speeding, texting, running a red light, etc. that may help get to the bottom of what exactly caused the crash. Although it’s never guaranteed that a witness will have valuable information like this, it never hurts to ask.
So, if you’re unfortunate enough to find yourself involved in a car accident, once everyone is safe, don’t forget about the importance of asking witnesses as one of the steps you take after a car accident. Not only may it help your car accident case, but it’s also the right thing to do.