Contacting a witness during a claim

[Chicken_Satay]

A member of the public kindly volunteered themselves as a witness to a road traffic accident in which I was knocked off my motorbike. The person supplied their contact number.

Are there any rules about contacting witnesses at the start of or during an insurance claim? I'm sure the third-party would argue that if you had been in contact with the witness at the start or during the claim, you could maybe influence or shape their account of the events that lead to the accident.

That said, I volunteered as a witness to a road rage incident a few years ago and we were in contact with the victim. The police were involved and it went to court where the offender was convicted.

Therefore, I'm not sure what's acceptable or not, and I wouldn't want to risk jeopardising the integrity of my witness.

[zzrman]

If you have a solicitor on your case let them deal with the witness.

[BertBert]

Or if you are making an insurance claim from your own insurer, ask them?

[Boosted LS1]

Of course you can contact a witness with a view to collecting evidence and so can the other side. There's no property in a witness. Find them as soon as you can and disregard them if they're of no use.

[Chicken_Satay]

Boosted LS1 said:

Of course you can contact a witness with a view to collecting evidence and so can the other side. There's no property in a witness. Find them as soon as you can and disregard them if they're of no use.

Ok, useful to know, thanks.