Car accident victims and passengers may not be viewed as credible if they have a personal or financial stake in the legal claim. For example, insurance adjusters often assume that passengers may lie or exaggerate their testimony to help the driver prove he or she was not at fault or was injured. It is best to carefully question passengers about any possible or potential bias so there are no bad surprises in deposition or courtroom testimony.
Personal injury lawyers can and frequently do rely on passengers to prove fault or that our clients reported injury at the time of the accident. It is just important to keep in mind that the best witnesses in your car accident case is most likely to be a stranger with no reason to fabricate or exaggerate their testimony.