Can i be made to give evidence.
Discussion
I'm not a lawyer so don't take this as gospel, but I recently provided a written witness statement in relation to hearing in the family court. I have been asked to attend court for the hearing and the friend whose case I provided the statement for has been told by her barrister that I must attend.
PAJERO said:
Some time ago i was approached by an old work colleague asking if i would give a statement to his solicitor regarding a claim he was making for an industrial disease, I was reluctant but finally agreed after being contacted by solicitor several times. Many months have past and i have had a letter saying case is going to High Court Of Justice Qeen,s Bench Division, and that I will be receiving a formal witness summons to ensure I will be compensated. Just wondered am i legally bound to give evidence in person other than a written statement.
Thanks for any replies.
If you receive a summons then you must attend.Thanks for any replies.
I think that a summons can be served on you to attend and that if you don't you could be fined up to 1K. I think they use a form N25
The reality is it isnt really in your work colleagues interest to force you to go to court and you should contact his solicitors to express your wish not to go.
The reality is it isnt really in your work colleagues interest to force you to go to court and you should contact his solicitors to express your wish not to go.
No I took early retirement from there 10 years ago but it is very local to me, Not really sure why i was asked in first place for a statement but knowing it would go this far surprises me. Its just that the court dates are really going to affect plans I had made for a job intend to do on those dates. It was implied the court summons was simply for me to claim expenses but failed to get a definitive answer from google. Just wondered if anyone had experience of this type of situation.
Being summoned does allow you to get those expenses but rarely do you get the full amount for lost time unless you earn a small hourly rate. You can expect your travel costs to be paid and an allowance for food or even a stay over if need be. A lot of matters are settled prior to the actual hearing. One side will tell the other side they have a willing and available witness waiting in the wings etc.
You can also ask the solicitor for 'conduct' money up front to cover your train fare or travel expenses. They should send that out with the summons.
You can also ask the solicitor for 'conduct' money up front to cover your train fare or travel expenses. They should send that out with the summons.
Edited by Boosted LS1 on Thursday 29th April 11:49
When you gave the statement you put yourself in a position where you can be forced to attend court unfortunately, that can be by summons and if you fail the Judge can issue a warrant for your arrest and you end up with the Police coming for you, whether that will happen is another thing.
The best advice would have been not to give a statement if you did not want to attend but hindsight is a wonderful thing
The best advice would have been not to give a statement if you did not want to attend but hindsight is a wonderful thing
PAJERO said:
Its not compensation I,m after I just wanted to know if i,m legally obliged to attend this type of court involving an industrial disease case.
Why? You don't have to lie or mislead, but someone who's potentially harmed or is potentially making a misleading claim, will see justice. What's the problem?You're not obliged to go unless somebody hands you a summons. They use your witness statement as a reason to issue the summons, ie you have evidence that may be useful. That's about it in a nutshell. It's a pretty likely possibility somebody may knock on your door to ask if you're in.
Time to stand up and be counted. It's Weasley people avoiding getting involved that allow businesses to get away with murder.
What about the guy in the other thread massively injured at work due to his employees negligence and cost cutting? What if the client said they weren't going to share their cctv as it was a bit too much trouble?
Don't be a knob and do the right thing.
What about the guy in the other thread massively injured at work due to his employees negligence and cost cutting? What if the client said they weren't going to share their cctv as it was a bit too much trouble?
Don't be a knob and do the right thing.
Tom1312 said:
More importantly, why do you not want to?
It certainly sounds like there is a case to be answered and your colleague obviously trusted you to be a reliable witness?
OP said "Its just that the court dates are really going to affect plans I had made for a job intend to do on those dates."It certainly sounds like there is a case to be answered and your colleague obviously trusted you to be a reliable witness?
OP, surely helping to get justice for an ex colleague is more important than a job which you may be able to change the date for.
sociopath said:
Time to stand up and be counted. It's Weasley people avoiding getting involved that allow businesses to get away with murder.
What about the guy in the other thread massively injured at work due to his employees negligence and cost cutting? What if the client said they weren't going to share their cctv as it was a bit too much trouble?
Don't be a knob and do the right thing.
Do you talk like that to people in person?What about the guy in the other thread massively injured at work due to his employees negligence and cost cutting? What if the client said they weren't going to share their cctv as it was a bit too much trouble?
Don't be a knob and do the right thing.
If you do how often do you get a smack in the gob, often?
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