Airsporter1st wrote: ↑24 Jun 2022, 5:33pm
thirdcrank wrote: ↑24 Jun 2022, 4:38pm
Airsporter1st wrote: ↑24 Jun 2022, 4:00pm
Insurance investigator who, coincidentally, was a former policeman.
The girl came from an estate which was expressly built to house 'problem' families. The headmistress received a tirade of abuse at the scene and afterwards, a brick through her house window and various other acts of retribution. she was a nervous wreck, which says something considering her vocation. Sometimes, there is just no justice. But I digress........ (My bold)
Thanks for that. My reason for asking is that the only time I've ever been asked to give an opinion on fault was in an insurance company's
pro forma inquiry after I had given my details as an independent witness to a crash, some years after I had retired. FWIW, I think they ask the question to see whose side the witness is on, especially if the subsequent account is garbled. The opinion of somebody who's not an expert witness has little evidential value, especially if it's influenced by irrelevant factors.
Insurance companies do employ retired police officers as investigators, but their training and work experience don't make them any sort of specialists in civil law. I think Jdsk's link about contributory negligence demonstrates that here
I tend to agree with much of what you say.
The investigator was representing the driver’s insurance company, so I don’t. believe he had any ulterior motive and I would suggest that my account was anything but garbled. Every accident form I’ve ever filled in (and there have been fortunately few), asks for my opinion, so there must be some weight given to it, surely? Is there no differentiation between a witness to an event and an expert witness called at a trial?
Apologies for a lack of clarity on my part, probably the result of a misplaced attempt at brevity.
I didn't intend to suggest that your account was garbled, but many are, especially when written out on a form.
I was trying to move away from the implication that because a police officer says something about the law etc it must inevitably be so. Even more so in an area beyond their normal expertise.
An expert witness is a witness who is recognised as an expert in a particular field so they can give evidence of their opinion. A collision investigator might assess the mechanical condition and give their opinion about whether it caused or contributed to a crash, but there are experts in many field such as medicine, aeronautics you name it. In a case like yours, unless I've missed something your opinion would have no direct relevance. IMO, the wider point would be that your sympathy for the driver who you seem to know personally, and apparent disapproval of the casualty and her background might weaken your standing as an
independent witness.