When Accident Witnesses Disappear: Protecting Your Case

Witness testimony can substantiate your personal injury lawsuit, but witnesses can disappear — especially if they are wary of police or legal proceedings. Without accurate post-accident details, your case can devolve into a "he said/she said" competition, putting you at risk for insurance claim denials or an unfavorable comparative negligence finding, even if the other party bears full responsibility for the accident.

Tips For Securing Witness Testimony After an Accident

As a Bay Area personal injury law firm, we speak with witnesses regularly to strengthen and legitimize our clients' cases. We have learned what to do — and what not to do — to help our clients:

• Retain critical evidence from accident witnesses.
• Pursue testimony from the highest-quality witnesses.
• Help key witnesses feel calm and safe so they are more cooperative and willing to provide their account to us and to the courts.

Time is of the essence. The sooner you obtain a prospective witness's testimony, the more likely they are to cooperate and the fresher their recollection will be. Once witnesses leave the scene, it can become nearly impossible to locate them or persuade them to participate.

This is why we advise contacting an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible after an accident. We have the expertise and training to gather the evidence you need to establish the other party's liability and pursue the best possible outcome for your case.

Steps To Get Witness Information and Testimony At the Scene

Note: Your health and well-being are the top priorities. The steps outlined below are only advisable if you and others are safe from oncoming traffic or other threats, and if you have not sustained serious injury. If you suspect you are injured and do not have the time or ability to interact with witnesses, that is fine. Seeking immediate medical attention — and documenting your medical visits — should be your first step after an accident. Your attorney can work with local law enforcement and other agencies to gather the evidence you need to prove your case.

1. Calmly identify and introduce yourself

Adrenaline runs high after an accident, and you may be moving and speaking faster or more forcefully than usual. This can unsettle potential witnesses. By remaining calm, introducing yourself, and offering identification, you can help put them at ease.

If they are willing to share what they saw:

• Get their contact information. If bystanders confirm they witnessed the accident, ask permission to collect their contact information. Taking a picture of their ID is a smart step, and photographing their vehicle's license plate — if applicable — is equally useful. You can ask for a business card or have them text you their contact information. Written notes are an option, but it is easy to make errors in high-stress situations, so a digital record is often best.
• Ask them to remain until police arrive. The police report is an official document, and officers will ask bystanders to share what they saw and provide identification. Politely ask whether witnesses are willing to stay a few extra minutes to give their account when police arrive.

Depending on the circumstances, witnesses may or may not be willing to stay — which is why obtaining a photo of their ID is advisable, as it allows for follow-up later. Witnesses who are wary of law enforcement, have outstanding warrants, or simply feel uncomfortable may decline to remain. That is understandable. Never badger, threaten, or offer incentives to witnesses, as doing so can delegitimize your claim or create legal complications.

2. Take copious photos and videos of the accident scene

Photos and videos of the accident scene can be invaluable when witnesses later disappear. They may capture witnesses' vehicles in the frame, giving us information we can use to locate those individuals later. You never know which details will prove important. In some cases, photos our clients took at the scene allowed us to identify and track down witnesses who had left before anyone collected their contact information.

Equally important, those photos can be used by accident reconstruction specialists to provide evidence on your behalf. When photos are taken immediately after the accident — from all angles, at both close and long range — reconstruction experts can accurately recreate what happened. Once vehicles are moved or the scene is otherwise altered, the ability to produce a precise reconstruction may be significantly compromised.

3. Do not attempt to contact witnesses on your own

Once you have collected information from willing witnesses and photographed the scene, do not attempt to contact or reconnect with those witnesses yourself. Doing so can appear as an attempt to influence their accounts or steer their testimony in your favor. Any further contact with witnesses should be handled by law enforcement or your personal injury attorney to keep the process professional and objective.

One of your witnesses may have a dashcam and be willing to share that footage. Some municipalities also have CCTV cameras at major intersections, and many businesses use closed-circuit cameras for security. However, this footage is frequently deleted within a set period — many businesses purge recordings every seven to fourteen days, while others may retain footage for thirty to ninety days.

We recommend requesting copies of any CCTV footage covering the period leading up to and immediately following your accident, with ample buffer time to account for contributing factors — such as a faulty traffic signal or road hazard — that may be relevant to your claim.

Dashcam and CCTV footage can be invaluable. In some instances, a partial or direct view of the accident scene may help us identify witnesses who have since disappeared. The footage itself can also serve as independent evidence. If you claim you were broadsided by a driver who ran a red light and they deny it, camera footage can resolve the dispute objectively. We may also be able to establish that another driver was using a cell phone or was otherwise distracted, demonstrating that they bear full responsibility for the accident.

If gathering this footage feels overwhelming, let your attorney handle it. Tracking down and preserving video evidence is one of the many responsibilities a personal injury attorney takes on so that you can focus on your recovery.

Burneikis Law Can Help When Accident Witnesses Cannot Be Found

If you have recently been involved in a traffic accident where witness testimony could strengthen your claim, contact Burneikis Law for a consultation. Monica Burneikis has been recognized as one of the top female personal injury attorneys in Northern California and the Bay Area. The sooner you call us to schedule a consultation at (510) 328-3238, the sooner we can work to locate missing witnesses and preserve the photos, videos, and other evidence needed to support your claim and maximize your recovery.