The dynamics of Pennsylvania personal injury law are complex and require competence and detailed knowledge to navigate them. For a personal injury trial to go in the plaintiff’s favor, the judge or jury must believe their witnesses’ testimony. Therefore, if you have an ongoing case, you must understand your witnesses’ critical role in its success.
More so, the statements of your witnesses can significantly impact how the case turns out. In this blog, therefore, we will talk about why witness credibility is crucial and how it is established in personal injury trials.
How Important Is Witness Credibility to Your Case?
The primary aim of personal injury laws in several states like Pennsylvania is to compensate individuals who are victims of the negligence or wrongdoing of another and have their lives affected. However, before it can render compensation decisions, the court must investigate all available evidence, which includes eyewitness testimony. That means the court must find your witness credible, or it will disregard their testimony or treat it as fraudulent – or unreliable.
When you decide to take legal action after an accident that resulted in injuries, witness testimony is crucial. It becomes the cornerstone that the court uses to establish the legitimacy of your case. Therefore, the immense significance of the testimony of credible witnesses under oath during a trial or pretrial disposition must be considered.
Credible witnesses’ testimony can influence a case’s outcome and the likelihood of receiving certain settlements. In Pennsylvania, having dependable witnesses can be the difference between a favorable resolution and a decision that does not uphold rightful justice.
How a Pennsylvania Court Establishes Witness Credibility
Judges and juries optimize subjective and objective measures of dependability to establish witness credibility in personal injury trials. In subjective impressions, jurors mentally judge a witness through their attitudes or common knowledge about people like them. For example, if the witness tends to forget things, they would expect inconsistencies in their testimony.
On the other hand, objective measures include physical evidence like pictures and video footage that contradict a reliable witness’s testimony. In assessing the credibility of a potential witness in a trial, a Pennsylvania court will consider the following categories of factors:
- Capacity
- Bias
- Consistency
Capacity
The jury will consider any impairments, such as hearing loss or memory problems, that could impede the potential witness’s ability to convey information accurately. It will also consider whether the potential witness appears sleepy or vigilant during interrogation.
Bias
Another aspect that the court will consider to determine the credibility of a witness is their perception of things. That is, they will consider whether or not the witness has a personal interest in the case. Is the witness related to one of the parties, or have they been guaranteed something for their testimony?
Consistency
To judge the witness’s credibility, the court will check if their story is consistent with other evidence, like medical records. Also, it will check if they are consistent in their response when questioned – that is, do they consistently give the same response? “A major thing the court looks out for, but many are unaware of, is that it checks to see if there are discrepancies between testimonies in a written statement and court and what could account for them,” says Attorney Geoff Brown of Bordas and Bordas Attorneys, PLLC.
Conclusion
The success of a personal injury trial in Pennsylvania depends on several factors, one of which is witness credibility. If you want to win your case, you cannot treat the testimony of your witnesses with levity. A slight discrepancy in their testimony could mean less compensation or get the entire case thrown out.
