Witness Testimony

My auto insurance liability adjuster advised me that my witnesses cannot be considered because they are my close relatives. Is this correct statement?

Answer:

Hello there,
The answer is it depends. Adjusters will not take testimony of relatives or people that know you as they believe this testimony is bias.

Your passengers will probably not be truthful because they have a reason to be impartial (they know you and not the other person).

However, if you are dealing in a court of court, most testimony comes in. The other side will attack the testimony on the basis of bias, however, the jury gets to decide who they believe and why.

In many cases, the passenger and family member testimony is valid and decide the fault issue for the jury.

The insurance adjuster should do a complete investigation and look at all facts and statements, and they determine whether the testimony is credible or not.

This is a hard question because it is unclear whether or not insurance adjuster must take a statement from a witness that is a relative, my gut instinct is that they should, but it is not settled to my understanding.

Good Luck,
Hector

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