Many victims of auto accidents believe that to interview a witness, they simply need to call the auto accident witness and ask them to write what they saw and heard. Unfortunately, that strategy has caused many promising auto accident cases to become  difficult.

Good interviewing techniques are essential to solicit from the auto accident witness the true nature of their visual and perceptual impressions. Our attorneys and staff have long been expert in the field of auto accident investigation, and we do all our own statement investigations using the proven techniques outlined below. See Our Team.

There are five things every lawyer or accident victim should do when preparing to interview the witness:

      1.  If at all possible, know what you want that witness to say, before you call. So often, calling a witness and asking them to give details about an accident in their own words leaves the witness confused.  The witness does not know what is important to you, or is reluctant to discuss details that may be unhelpful to you. Knowing what facts about the accident you want the witness to elaborate upon, is always helpful. State your interest up front, and your witness is more likely to share detailed observations of the auto accident or injuries with you.

      2.  Know what the witness is likely to say about the auto accident or injuries before you call. This sounds backward, but good investigation includes: identifying the position of the witness to the auto accident, what he or she could have observed and seen about the collision.  Knowing this information, prior to discussing their statement, will lead to better results, and help you to understand what the witness is saying, and why he or she is saying it. Also when the witness does give facts that vary from your understanding of the auto accident, you can ask more detailed questions, designed to determine why the witness was giving a different version than you anticipated.

      3.  Always listen to the witnesses and observe their demeanor. Many times their  demeanor is a clue to other concerns. Is the witness shy, or hiding an opinion. Is the witness reluctant to get involved or unwilling to give a helpful opinion on the facts of the auto accident? Is the witness angry or irritated at you or your actions at the accident scene? These telltale signs uncover motives, and the accuracy of the witness.

      4.  Never make a witness hostile or uncomfortable. Many inexperienced interviewers ask a witness to support a conclusion of the questioner on accident liability or damages. You think the other driver was at fault, don't you? You saw me hurt at the scene didn't you? If the witness has concerns about your claim or collision liability, these statements prompt the witness to be concerned about giving you their opinions and can actually sabotage your auto accident case. The better approach is to listen to the FACTS of the accident and injuries, leave the witness to draw their own conclusions. You may even be wrong in your conclusions, or as to the sequence or violence of the accident.

      5.  Know every witnesses capability and limitation. The inability of the witness to see or hear auto accident events, based upon their location to the accident scene, noise around them, their view behind them, or obstructions in their view, all may be important. Sometimes a witness will testify to matters beyond their ability to see or hear, but still be honestly giving their opinion. It is better for your case that you not allow the witness to give such testimony, as it tends to show bias, motive, or a willingness to be inaccurate in their desire to help you. It is always preferred that you have the witness give those accident facts that help you, and are reasonably perceived, than to have that witness speculate in your favor.

The Caveat of all witness interviews is to build confidence with the auto accident witness, have that witness give facts that support your case not just conclusions, and have the witness feel the interviewer is being fair to them and to their recall. If a witness does not want to talk to you after the interview, or fill out a statement, it is almost always because they are not comfortable with your approach.

If you are unsure about your ability to take a statement, Contact Us Online or call us at 1-888-752-7474 for a free consultation.