When Life Gives You Lemons — Call an Attorney

If you were in a car accident and are fighting against the other party involved, your case may end up in court. In this situation, both lawyers will try to prove they are right, and this is done by producing evidence and calling eyewitnesses. If one of the witnesses has evidence that favors your opponent, your lawyer may need to use strategies to disprove this person's credibility and testimony. There are several strategies your lawyer may use for this, and it is important to know this so that you can understand why your lawyer is doing what he or she is doing.

Testimony Does Not Match The Physical Evidence

One of the first things your lawyer may look at is the person's testimony and the physical evidence from the case. By comparing these two types of evidence, your attorney may be able to prove this person's story is not factual. The physical evidence from a car accident case can involve skid marks, damage to the vehicles, and road conditions at the time of the accident. This information can often be found in the police report written immediately after the accident took place.

In addition to the police report listing these items, it may also contain written statements from the drivers and witnesses. If a witness's story in court does not match what he or she said in the police report, your lawyer can use this to disprove the person's testimony. Research shows that what people remember is not always what really happened, and this is a point your lawyer may use when trying to disprove a person's testimony.

In addition, if all the physical evidence proves the person's story could not possibly be true, your lawyer will point this out during the trial. 

Physical Impairment Of Some Kind

The second thing lawyers often look for when disproving eye witness testimony is physical impairments. For example, if the eye witness has poor vision and was standing hundreds of yards away when the accident took place, your lawyer may try to point out that he or she could not possibly have witnessed exactly what happened because of impaired vision.

Something like this can help place doubt in the minds of the jurors or judge handling the case. It may make them question whether the witness really saw what happened, and whether he or she remembers the real facts of the case.

This Person Is Not A Credible Witness

If the first two strategies do not work well, a lawyer can also begin to attempt to diminish a person's testimony by stating information that could cause the court to lose respect for the witness. The purpose of this is to prove the person is not a credible witness, and this is something that could be accomplished by:

• Bringing up evidence that the person has a criminal record of some kind
• Showing proof the person was compensated for giving the testimony
• Demonstrating bad choices or mistakes from the person's past

While attacking a witness is not really the point of this, bringing up stuff from the past is often helpful when a person's testimony is against yours. In addition, your lawyer will want to bring other witnesses to court that have stories that back up your side of the story. This too can be helpful in winning a car accident case.

Lawsuits can be confusing if you have never been through one before, which is why it is good to educate yourself about how they are handled before you actually go to court. If you would like to learn more about this, contact a personal injury lawyer in your area today to schedule an appointment to discuss your case.