do i have to testify?

[scarred2]

i was recently a passenger in an accident involving road rage.neither parties are innocent and both are responsible for my injuries/scars. this is what happened- as we(the driver and myself were headed down the highway, we came up on a slow-moving car.when the driver of the vehicle i was in came up too close on the other car, he(the other car) slammed on breaks, this further instigated the problem.the driver of the car i was in, became enraged and both drivers drove wrecklessly and aggressivly. when we came to our exit the other driver crossed through 2 lanes and followed us up it. the driver of the car i was in put the car in park,and got out of the vehicle. at this point i would not turn around and look, so i didnt actually see what went on. but i suspect he struck the other driver.as the light at the top of the exit turned green he got back in the vehicle and took it out of park. as he did this i thought he was driving wrecklessly- but what happened was the guy in the other vehicle rammed underneath othe back of us, put our vehicle up on its two wheels and proceeded to run us into a telephone pole. i was nearly killed and had to be cut out of the vehicle. how do i go after both of them?they still havent gone to court to make clear who was to blame.also i signed a paper saying id testify for the driver of the vehicle i was in, do i have to honer that?even though i didnt see anything- i know what really happened.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

i was recently a passenger in an accident involving road rage.neither parties are innocent and both are responsible for my injuries/scars. this is what happened- as we(the driver and myself were headed down the highway, we came up on a slow-moving car.when the driver of the vehicle i was in came up too close on the other car, he(the other car) slammed on breaks, this further instigated the problem.the driver of the car i was in, became enraged and both drivers drove wrecklessly and aggressivly. when we came to our exit the other driver crossed through 2 lanes and followed us up it. the driver of the car i was in put the car in park,and got out of the vehicle. at this point i would not turn around and look, so i didnt actually see what went on. but i suspect he struck the other driver.as the light at the top of the exit turned green he got back in the vehicle and took it out of park. as he did this i thought he was driving wrecklessly- but what happened was the guy in the other vehicle rammed underneath othe back of us, put our vehicle up on its two wheels and proceeded to run us into a telephone pole. i was nearly killed and had to be cut out of the vehicle. how do i go after both of them?they still havent gone to court to make clear who was to blame.also i signed a paper saying id testify for the driver of the vehicle i was in, do i have to honer that?even though i didnt see anything- i know what really happened.

My response:

It sounds like your friend is at the Criminal stage of this matter, and that a Criminal trial has been scheduled.

I have no idea what kind of paper you signed, so I can't tell you whether or not you "have to testify".

It also seems that you may have a "conflict of interest" if you are planning on testifying on behalf of your driver; that is, since you also have, what may be, an Injury cause of action against your driver friend (as well as the other driver), if you testify in favor of your driver, then you may be damaging any potential claims you later may have against your driver in a Personal Injury claim / lawsuit.

Also, even though the other driver eventually ran your car up a telephone pole, your driver / friend is also liable for your injuries because it was your driver / friend who was an "efficient proximate cause" of your injuries - - that is, but for his impatience and road rage, this incident would not have occurred. Your friend set this "domino effect" into motion, and is liable to you for all actions that occurred throughout the incident, just as much as the other driver.

Have you consulted with a Personal Injury attorney yet ?

When did this happen ?

Have you been medically treated for your injuries ?

In which State did this occur ?

IAAL