The judgment of Mrs Justice Slade in Aviva Insurance -v- Randive [2016] EWHC 3152 (QB) involves no findings of fact. However it does demonstrate the dangers inherent in being involved in the drafting of witness statements and replies to Part 18 questions.Where facts are set out which cannot be prov...
I’ve started audio recording what the witness tells me and the answers to my questions. I’ve told the witness that the purpose of the meeting is for the preparation of their statement. I explain the requirement that a statement should be “in the intended witness’s own words” and that a recording is the best way of doing this. A transcript then provides a good starting point for a statement “in the intended witness’s own words”. A little tidying up and perhaps a few supplementary questions and voila! Also protection against the witness denying saying something later.