Can a witness statement stand if it is someone you know?

Question

I am making a claim to a tribunal for unfair dismissal, as i had a road traffic accident in which i wrote off a works vehicle.
I am being accused of being drunk because two witness that are friends with my employer turned up after the accident happened have siad that they got me away from the scene of the accident, and that they smelt alcohol on my breath. There was no police involvement as no one was hurt and the other driver from the vehcile didnt indicate that he thought i had been drinking, although he did ask me this at the beginning and was ok when i told him i hadnt. The reason for the accident was that regretably i had fallen asleep as i had been doing a lot of hours over the last few weeks.
My patner picked me up at the scene of the accident about an hour after it had happened.

Answer 1

The statement can stand BUT bring this to the attention of whoever is representing you.
The fact that the other party involved did not think you had been drinking and the other 2 did, is important because the extra witnesses are known to your employer.
This could indicate that the statements given are biased against you for the benefit of the employer.
If there was a suspicion of alcohol then police attendance should have been requested. Give all of these facts to your representative, including the long hours you had been working.
Remember though, even if you win the case, you may need to leave because the tension and atmosphere at work may be unbearable!

Good Luck

Answer 2

Generally speaking, any person may be a witness who has direct knowledge of an issue that is central to the dispute at hand. Therefore, if your friend knows something first-hand about what happened, or about some other point relevant to the dispute, then your friend can certainly appear as a witness (presuming that the rules of procedure for these hearings permit the calling of witnesses).

However, the believability of any witness is always open to question by the other side. That means that the other side in the dispute can make the argument that your friend is not testifying accurately, honestly, or objectively, because of their friendship with you. It is up to the decider of fact (in this case, presumably the tribunal members) to decide whether they believe the witness and how much weight to give their testimony.

Answer 3

If this is true then you must contact the other driver and ask him if he could be a witness in your defence ( he doesn't have to turn up a statement sent to your solicitor direct will do )
Also get you wife to be a witness aswell !
Why were the police not involved ?
It has been my experience that when you have an accident in a work`s vehicle a manager / foreperson come`s to the scene to inspect the situation and to check damage etc and to arrange for the vehicle to be removed !
something sound`s a bit fishy to me ,added together with the fact that the driver who you hit asked if you were drunk !
This is one case i would definitely give the elbow !

Answer 4

the testimony can stand. what you have to do is present contrary evidence when they do raise the issue of drunk driving. by then it will be your evidence against theirs. if yours appear more credible, then you have achieved your goal. however, the evaluation of which evidence is more credible is up to the tribunal. good luck.

Answer 5

Yes the statement can stand.