Personal Injury Attorney Explains The Importance Of Witnesses In PI Cases

Most people have no idea how a personal injury case proceeds or what is required to achieve a fair  settlement or win a jury trial. It starts with a lot of prep work and evidence collection, one of the most important of which is the witness statement.

There are three types of witnesses in personal injury cases: first-hand witnesses, lay witnesses, and expert witnesses.

First-hand witnesses are people who saw the accident or negligence occur in person. They were on-site and watched the event unfold. These types of witnesses are crucial to helping determine if negligence was a factor in the incident. The challenge with this type of witness is obtaining a statement right away. It’s very common for witnesses to forget what they saw or to lose details as time goes by. For this reason, your attorney will likely ask if there were any witnesses as soon as he/she takes the case. This is so that they can obtain a statement before memories fade or people begin to question what they saw. If you are ever involved in a PI situation, try to get witness statements at the time of the incident. This will help your lawyer build a case.

Lay witnesses are people who saw the victim after the fact. These may be friends, family members, or co-workers who witnessed the effect that the incident had on the injured party and/or how the incident changed the injured person’s life. Lay witnesses are important in establishing damages or the worth of the claim.

Anyone who watches television law shows has heard of expert witnesses. These are professionals who are called in during a trial to provide opinions based on the facts of the case. They are important in explaining complex issues to juries, and providing their professional opinion on specific questions, issues, or evidence.

Trust An Eisenberg Law Personal Injury Attorney To Work With Your Witnesses

Witness testimony can be crucial to obtaining a favorable outcome to your case. The personal injury attorneys at Eisenberg Law Offices work closely with witnesses to secure accurate testimonies and critical details that help build our client’s cases.

Learn more about working with an Eisenberg Law injury attorney by calling us at 608-256-8356 or emailing us at Info@EisenbergLaw.org.