What Makes Someone a Credible Witness for a Car Crash Claim?

If you are involved in a car accident and ultimately make a car crash claim, witness testimony can be one of the most powerful pieces of evidence in your case. An El Paso car accident lawyer can investigate if anyone witnesses your car accident and if they are a credible witness who can be believed and trusted.

Why Witnesses Are Important in Car Accident Cases

Many car accident claims come down to “he-said, she-said.” You and the at-fault party both have a vested interest in explaining the car accident happened in a way that makes you the innocent party. The at-fault party doesn’t want to pay higher insurance rates by being blamed for the collision. Their insurer wants to minimize how much compensation you receive while you want to maximize it.

A witness can be the tiebreaker and help convince an insurance adjuster or jury that the accident happened how you say it did. This is because witnesses are generally objective; they have nothing to gain by giving false information about the cause of our El Paso car wreck.

Factors that Can Weaken Credibility

Some factors that can affect the credibility of a witness include:

• Criminal history – Generally, a person without a criminal history may seem more credible than someone with a criminal history. This is because people perceive law-abiding citizens as individuals who would not lie in court or as part of legal proceedings.
• Reputation for being a dishonest person – If a person has a history of lying about things, they will not appear credible to an insurance adjuster or jury. If the witness is caught in one lie, others will contemplate what else they have lied about.
• Problems with cognition, vision, or impairment – If a witness has issues remembering things, has poor eyesight, or was intoxicated at the time of the accident, what they saw may be questionable.
• Interest in the case – If the witness does have something at stake in the case or personally knows you (like a passenger), they may not see as credible.

Factors that Can Make Testimony More Valuable

Some of the factors that can make eyewitness testimony more valuable include:

• Near the scene of the accident – If the witness can say what they saw because they were near the scene of the accident, instead of stating that the driver is generally a good driver, this testimony can be more valuable.
• Objective – Witnesses who do not know either party involved in the accident are generally more credible than witnesses who are associated with the drivers.
• Consistent statements – Witnesses who repeat the same story over and over again are generally more credible.

Contact The Law Offices of Michael Gopin, PLLC for Help with Your Car Accident Claim

If you suffered an injury in an El Paso car wreck, The Law Offices of Michael Gopin, PLLC is here to help. Our El Paso car accident lawyers have more than 30 years of combined legal experience. We know what type of evidence can help support our clients’ claims and will work quickly to gather strong evidence in your case. Contact us today for your free consultation and learn all the ways we can help.

Michael J. Gopin

Michael J. Gopin has practiced law in El Paso since 1987. Even after more than 30 years, he still remembers his first jury case. It was two weeks after receiving his license, when he represented a person whose life had been forever changed after being blinded in a work-related incident...