![]() If there are businesses nearby, walk in and ask if anyone there witnessed the accident and how much they remember. If the accident happened in front of a home or business, for example, there’s a chance that someone who’s in that place every day at the particular time might have witnessed it. One is to return to the scene of the accident and see if there’s anyone who was there at the time. Especially when it didn’t happen to them, the likelihood that a stranger is going to remember the details of how an accident occurred weeks ago is slim.īut, if the photos and the police report don’t tell the story or provide enough evidence, you do still have a few options. The second is that people’s memories become fuzzy about the details. There are a few issues: One is that you’re unlikely to locate passers-by or other motorists at this point. Unfortunately, finding a witness for an accident two weeks ago is going to be difficult. That’s a great question, and I’m sorry to hear this happened but glad you’re ok. Contact a personal injury lawyer sooner rather than later.įiled Under: Questions & Answers Tagged With: accident claim, Car Accidents Reader Interactions If you’re having trouble identifying and locating witnesses, don’t think you have to do it alone. Moreover, attorneys can issue subpoenas to procure statements from uncooperative witnesses. Keep in mind that attorneys have a number of search tools at their disposal to locate witnesses. Identifying and locating witnesses can be a real challenge, particularly when a lot of time has elapsed. What to do if you still can’t find witnesses? Ask each witness you locate whether they remember anyone else at the scene. One witnesses often leads to additional witnesses. Put on your detective hat and attempt to locate possible witnesses. Take a look at what’s around.Īre there people waiting for the bus who may have been waiting for the bus at the time of the accident? Who’s in the office that overlooks the spot where the accident occurred? Revisit the scene at the same time of day as the accident. If there is no police report (or you believe there are additional unidentified witnesses), you can canvas the scene. ![]() The police report will list all witnesses identified by the responding officer along with their contact information. Police reports are available to the public (the process of obtaining a police report varies by state). However, there are a couple of resources that might help: Police reports Finding witnesses long after an accidentĪs mentioned above, identifying and locating a witness days or months after an accident can be challenging. Most police officers will attempt to locate and speak to witnesses on their own, but you don’t want to leave such an important task entirely up to them. Tweet thisįinally, be sure to alert the responding police officer to any helpful witnesses. Need a witness statement after an accident? Use your cell phone’s voice recording program to get a quick recorded statement. So, if the witness seems uncomfortable or agitated, simply take down their contract information and avoid pushing the envelope. Keep in mind that you want the witness to be on your side. Some cell phones even have voice recording programs that you can use to obtain a recorded statement. If the witness is cooperative and their statements support your claim, ask them to draft and sign a brief statement recounting what they saw. Where the witness was coming from and going to.Where the witness was positioned at the time of the accident.Once you obtain the witness’s contact information, you will want to determine: Telephone numbers of someone close to the witness (such as a spouse).For this reason, it’s important to obtain as much contact information as possible from each witness. Witnesses are notoriously difficult to track down after an accident. Witnesses might also overhear damaging statements made by drivers or passengers that, depending on the circumstances, might be admissible in court. Similarly, a witness who didn’t observe the actual collision may have seen that one of the drivers appeared injured or inebriated after the accident. Keep in mind that even if a witness didn’t observe the actual collision, they may still be able to provide valuable information.įor example, a witness may have observed one of the drivers failing to use their turn signal. Drivers and passengers in other vehicles.On the other hand, there are often a number of unbiased and sometimes overlooked witnesses to an accident such as: However, because these individuals are often friends and family members of the drivers, their statements, while important, are less credible. The most obvious witnesses to a car accident are the passengers of the vehicles involved in the collision. Enjuris Tip: Need help remembering what to do following a car crash? Download our post-accident checklist and keep it in your glove compartment.
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