if you are in a car accident can the passenger be used as a witness?

Question

no one has been injured just damage to the car

my insurance company has told me that the person who was in my car can not be used as a witness

Answer 1

I rarely differ from Cowboy Bill, but this is a REAL BIG pet peeve of mine, when insurance companies do this. But they are out there, and they take that position. Logically, it would stand to reason that the passenger may be biased and subject to lying to help you. And yes, an independent witness is ideal for an investigation. However, judges and juries get to hear their testimony in court, and they weigh the credibility of the person and decide from there. That's what the insurance companies should do. Sometimes passengers give statements and totally hose the driver of the car they were in because they are truthful and the person is at fault. Also, in arbitration, you can submit a passenger's statement as evidence for the panel to review, and the passenger's statement is considered a witness statement. I hear arbitrations regularly, and I worked in the claims Litigation unit for many years and saw cases all the way from the filing of a suit to the trial. You have to determine if the testimony is credible. You should take the statement and determine if it's enough to support either person.

If you intend to push this issue, I would recommend pointing out the fact that passengers can testify in court and be considered witnesses and ask for the same consideration that a finder of fact lilke a judge or jury would give you in a court of law. You may not win out though- this may be a standing policy at that company and they're sort of right about the potential bias of a passenger.If you succeed, you better hope your passenger helps and doesn't hurt you. However, like I said they may determine not to use it or give it little to no credibility, and that's their right. Anytime I hear someone who works with me tell another person passengers are not witnesses I smack him/her.

Answer 2

Dont listen to the first two people- they clearly dont work for insurance companies. Insurance companies and police arent stupid. They know that a witness that is in your car is going to side with you in an accident. That is why they only use independent third parties as witnesses. This means no one that was in your vehicle and no family members or anything that happen to be on the road behind you at the time.

So no, they cannot be a witness to make a long story short.

Answer 3

No. A passenger's testimony is worthless. Only a third party, independent witness will be used in an insurance investigation.

Answer 4

A passenger can always be used as a witness. If it is a hesaid/shesaid argument over who went through a red light, or who didn't signal, the witness can be considered biased, however. Hopefully there is another witness to corroborate the testimony of the passenger, and hopefully the passenger isn't a spouse or close relative, because the testimony will be considered coloured as well as biased.

Answer 5

Sure.

Answer 6

yes .