Who is a witness of fact?

• A person who is asked to provide factual evidence in court is called a witness of fact.
• Factual evidence is evidence about something that the witness saw or heard about an event relating to the case.
• For example if a patient was said to be loitering in a parking lot the day they allegedly committed a crime a health professional may be called as a witness of fact to say they saw the patient loitering in the parking lot.
• If a patient alleges that they suffer ongoing pain as a result of a car accident their GP may be called as a witness of fact to say how many times the patient has consulted them with regard to pain, what the patient said about the accident and their symptoms, what treatment they provided for the patient and what they observed while examining the patient.