Car accident - is a witness' opinion

ztkr

Hi all, just a quick question.

A friend of mine has had a minor car accident. A witness says it is my friend's fault, and so her insurance company says that there is no point in contesting the claim because the witness opinion is legally binding.

Is this true? I would accept that the witness statement would be considered, of course, but not that they should decide the outcome, as they would almost definitely not know the entirety of our driving laws!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts...

Outpost

I'd imagine that the witness statement is considered as part of the 'evidence' to reach a conclusion about liability rather than having the 'final say' if you will.

Although a witness statement by an unconnected passer-by would be seen as fairly conclusive I suppose since they would be seen have no vested interest in which vehicle was responsible for the collision.

slyracoon

If they are an independant witness (e.g. not a passenger in either car) and their story matches the story of one of the drivers then yes the insurance company will usually take their word for it.

Tilt

It depends on the circumstances to a degree but I would say that just 1 witness would not necessarily rubber stamp liability.

Quentin

You gonna have difficulty getting a judge to believe your side when faced with the other side plus an independent witness saying the same thing!

And a bigger difficulty persuading your insurer to pay for the court case in a "minor" incident!

bigjl

As said already bt Outpost. The witness statement will be matched to the physical evidence and the statement of the other driver. As the witness is independant then i would say there is nothing your friend can say.

What would.your friend say if the witness agreed with her version? Not a lot is my guess.

Remember that when involved in even a minor RTC people tend to try and deny liability. This is just a fact of life.

Strider590

The circumstances of the accident would have to be one of those "could go either way" type's, surely?

Lum

The witness statement will likely be takes as reliable evidence of what actually happened. Their opinion of whose fault it was will not.

If the witness describes a situation that would normally be the fault of your friend then your friend will be found at fault.

We really need to know the circumstances of the accident on this one, both your friend's version and the witness' version.

ztkr

Strider590 wrote: »

The circumstances of the accident would have to be one of those "could go either way" type's, surely?

Yes, well, both parties are claiming they are in the right. We're really suspicious about the witness though. When the accident happened, the other party didn't stop, instead driving over to where the witness was, having a discussion with the witness, from which point the witness was adamant about who to blame...

ztkr

Lum wrote: »

The witness statement will likely be takes as reliable evidence of what actually happened. Their opinion of whose fault it was will not.

I agree. I think her insurance company is trying to fob her off, it's probably cheaper for them if she takes responsibility, as they can close the case rather than fight it.

Yorkie1

'Legally binding', no.

'Likely to be very persuasive', yes.