You want the author of a witness statement to be completely honest. What Are the Most Important Things to Remember? Having a variety of perspectives from people in different areas of your life, can give the appeals specialist a richer picture of how your day-to-day activities have been impacted. Who Should You Ask to Write a Witness Statement?ĭepending on the circumstances of your particular illness/condition, it may be helpful to get witness statements from close family members as well as friends, former co-workers, or neighbors. For instance, they can describe how “since your disability, you have not attended any family reunions, or can no longer drive, or how you tire easily and need to rest throughout the day, etc.” A witness statement should convey to the insurance company how the author has witnessed your disabling condition affecting your life. It is okay for the author to provide their opinion, detail a specific instance where they personally saw how your disability has changed your behavior. The witness statement should be more personal. This is not a legal letter and it should not sound like it is coming from an attorney. This is a chance for your family, friends, and co-workers to describe how your behavior has changed since your disability. Generally, it is written in an informative style, in language the writer would generally use. What Are the Most Important Things to Remember?Ī Witness Statement is a letter detailing the observations and impressions of the author.Who Should You Ask to Write a Witness Statement?.Your lawyers can advise you on the law, but often dispute cases rely on the strength of the evidence.įor further advice on witness statements or help in resolving a dispute, contact our specialist dispute management team on 01 or email us. This will also help your lawyers do the best job possible for you. If you’re involved in litigation, it can pay dividends to write a draft statement as early as possible, of all the facts as you remember them. This may seem unnecessary, but this new nugget is there to protect the witness, to ensure both lawyer and witness are satisfied the statement is a true recollection of events in the witness’s own words. Witness statements have to be read by a lawyer, to confirm they comply with ‘the Statement of Best Practice’ – and they must sign the ‘Certificate of Compliance’ to say they have done so. Witness statements shouldn’t include reams of documents unless it illustrates a material fact that proves/disproves something in the dispute.ħ. Trying to get it to word-perfect might corrupt recollection.Ħ. Witness statements shouldn’t take endless drafts before submission. When taking down details from a witness to write a statement, lawyers should use open questions and should not use leading questions to put words into a witness’s mouth or try to get a witness to say something the lawyer wants to hear.ĥ. Pro-forma questionnaires can rarely allow for the uniqueness of every person’s testimony and should be avoided.Ĥ. Witness statements should (where possible) be prepared with the witness personally, letting the witness explain, and getting down an account that’s both concise, but in the witness’s own “True Voice”. They should say only what they are happy to say.ģ. Witnesses shouldn’t be under any pressure. Sadly, sometimes witnesses suggest they know something when actually, they’ve just heard it on the grapevine.Ģ. Witnesses should only be giving evidence on facts they know. Here’s what a witness needs to know for the preparation of the all-important witness statement, as reiterated by the new rules:ġ. In April 2021, the legal rules on how to prepare and submit witness statements for litigation cases in the Business and Property Courts changed, largely so all preparing statements follow a common-sense approach to best-practice when writing statements, to ensure statements are truthful and accurate. There’s only a limited time allocated to the hearing of evidence, therefore, courts often prefer when witnesses are accurate but concise. A witness is involved to provide an honest account on the relevant facts within their personal knowledge. The role of the Court is to get to the truth of a matter no more, no less. The role of witness statements in court proceedings In this blog, we share some key points to consider when writing a statement, and what witnesses need to be aware of. This can be a daunting prospect for witnesses, especially with legal rules that must be followed on how a witness statement should be prepared. When a litigation matter continues on to court proceedings, witnesses are called upon to provide evidence.
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