Witness These Three Types Of Evidence In Your Personal Injury Case

When a car accident happens, it can come as both a physical and emotional shock. If it turns out that you were the victim of a careless driver, you must overcome your shock and take swift action. You are entitled to be compensated for the careless driving of others, and the more evidence you have available the more compelling your case will be. Whether you end up taking your case to trial or the insurance company offers you a settlement, when you have good evidence your compensation chances are better and higher. One special type of evidence is witnesses, so read on to learn more.

Evidence and Witnesses

In most cases, you will have several pieces of hard, physical evidence to present to help prove your case. You may have a police or accident report from law enforcement, your medical records showing the seriousness of your injuries, photographs and videos. One valuable source of evidence, however, is a witness to the accident. There can be at least three main types of witnesses to a personal injury case.

Eye witnesses testimony: When most people think of witnesses, it's the thought of a person who actually saw the accident happen. It can be someone in your vehicle, like a friend or relative, but the most valuable and convincing testimony might come from a relative stranger who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Be sure to seek out the contact information for anyone who saw what happened, and consider canvassing the local area to locate people who may have seen what happened on that day. Don't delay; memories about details can fade quickly.

Lay witnesses: The little-considered side effect of a horrendous accident is often the effect it has on your friends and family members. They know how much you have suffered and how your life, and their lives, have been changed because of the other driver's actions. Pain and suffering is a major component of personal injury damages, and you are entitled to be compensated for the emotional trauma caused by the accident as well as the trauma forced upon your loved ones. These important witness will play a valuable part in your personal injury case and trial, if it comes to that.

Expert witnesses: If you are unable to come to an agreement with the at-fault driver's insurance carrier, you may be compelled to go to court to have your case decided upon. When that happens, your attorney may rely on the testimony of professional witnesses who are considered experts in various fields. These people usually will be able to display years of experience and certifications or educational degrees in their fields of expertise. Some common experts include:

• Accident reconstruction experts
• Medical experts
• Mental health experts
• Bio-mechanical experts
• and more.

Contact a law office, like Monohan & Blankenship, for more help.