Personal injury cases have a number of obstacles that can prevent them from being successfully resolved. One of the most significant hurdles is gathering evidence needed to establish liability and damages. Evidence can come in a variety of forms, but one type that is often overlooked by personal injury attorney belleville il are witness statements. Here are the importance of gathering witness statements along with other evidence in a personal injury case.
Witnesses are needed to back up the claimant’s testimony
The first and most important function of witnesses is to back up the claimant’s testimony. When a case goes to trial, witnesses are often asked about what they saw and heard in the incident on which a claim is based. In some cases, however, witnesses’ testimonies can be very conflicting. If this is the case, determining liability becomes more challenging. The claimant must present substantial evidence that his or her injury occurred as a result of an accident with other or third party negligence.
The use of witnesses can help to establish liability
The second and equally important function of witnesses is to establish liability. In many personal injury cases, the claimant doesn’t assume responsibility for his or her injuries. When this happens, a plaintiff may have to prove that the defendant was at fault for causing his or her injury. This is done by presenting evidence about what the claimant saw and heard during the incident in question along with other witnesses who confirmed their accounts.
Witnesses are an important way to establish damages
The third and final function of witnesses is to establish the amount of damages owed. In many personal injury claims, the plaintiff doesn’t receive a monetary award for his or her injuries. In such cases, the court will decide compensation through testimony about what happened during the incident in question, along with evidence about how much money was lost due to medical expenses and other losses.
Witnesses can act as a risk reduction measure
Witnesses are also commonly used to reduce the risk of future incidents. In many personal injury cases, witnesses are asked about what happened in the past and what may happen in the future. If a claimant’s testimony regarding past events is different from that of other witnesses, or he or she has some sort of suspicious behavior during an incident, it is highly likely that he or she wishes to have the case against him or her dismissed. This is known as “risk allocation.”
