We conduct comprehensive in-person interviews with the subject that focus on all relevant and important issues relating to the claim or suit, whether it be a motor vehicle accident, workers’ compensation injury, or disability claim. The agreed interview format may include a consented recording or a professionally written statement.
Pinpoint Investigations & Security Corp. provides these services throughout Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx.
Who uses this service
- Plaintiff and defense attorneys, trial teams, matrimonial and family-law counsel, employment and commercial litigators, and out-of-state counsel needing licensed New York/New Jersey field support.
- Insurance carriers, claims professionals, special investigation units, third-party administrators, self-insured organizations, and coverage or subrogation counsel.
- Businesses, owners, in-house counsel, compliance, human resources, corporate security, risk management, internal audit, and loss-prevention teams.
What to expect
Confidential intake: Pinpoint identifies the legitimate purpose, witness and subject, event, disputed issues, counsel or authorized contacts, deadline, prior contact, representation concerns, safety, language, location, recording preference, and required deliverable.
Information requested may include names and identifiers, contact leads, incident or claim reports, pleadings, timelines, photographs, video, diagrams, messages, records, prior statements, known inconsistencies, exhibit labels, and counsel-approved topics or restrictions.
Contact and consent: Pinpoint verifies the witness, explains the investigator’s role and authorized purpose, confirms the interview is voluntary, avoids legal advice or promises, obtains any required recording consent, and coordinates an interpreter or appropriate adult when needed.
Interview: the witness first gives an uninterrupted account; the investigator then clarifies sequence, perception, exact words, locations, timing, identities, sources of knowledge, uncertainty, and exhibits using neutral questions. The investigator does not script, threaten, coach, or conceal material corrections.
Written format: the statement is organized in the witness’s own substance, then read or translated back for review. Corrections are incorporated transparently; the witness signs and dates the final version, with initials, witness, declaration, affidavit, or notarization when counsel requests and the format permits.
Recorded format and delivery: the opening identifies participants, date, place, consent, and purpose; the original file is preserved without substantive editing. The client receives the agreed statement or secure recording, report, transcript or summary, exhibits, contact attempts, consent details, discrepancies, and limitations.
Timing and availability
Urgent outreach may begin the same day or next business day when the scope, witness information, counsel instructions, representation review, safety details, written engagement, and retainer are ready. Cooperation and scheduling cannot be guaranteed.
A cooperative local witness with current contact information can often be interviewed within one to three business days. A focused interview may take about 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the event, exhibits, language, detail, and emotional or medical needs.
Locating a witness, repeated contact attempts, travel, remote availability, counsel coordination, a represented person, a minor or vulnerable witness, interpreter scheduling, multiple witnesses, lengthy records, or a complex chronology can extend the assignment.
Important limits
- A private investigator cannot compel a person to speak, sign, record, produce documents, appear, or keep the interview confidential. A subpoena, deposition, court order, or other compulsory process must come through counsel and the proper authority.
- A signed or recorded statement is not automatically true, complete, admissible, privileged, confidential, or stronger than all other evidence. Identity, personal knowledge, context, consistency, authenticity, hearsay, disclosure, and the governing rules still matter.
- The investigator does not write a desired story or coach a witness. The account must remain the witness's own; uncertainties, memory limits, corrections, contradictions, interpreter involvement, and information learned from others are documented rather than concealed.
- A recording is not automatically permitted. Pinpoint reviews jurisdiction, consent, privacy, location, purpose, and counsel instructions before recording and does not unlawfully intercept a private communication or record a person in a legally protected setting.
- A written statement does not replace testimony, cross-examination, a deposition, or counsel's legal work. Notarization verifies an acknowledgment or oath under the applicable procedure; it does not prove that every factual statement is accurate.
- Pinpoint does not contact a represented opposing person merely because a client requests it, promise a legal result, decide credibility or admissibility, or give legal advice. Counsel determines contact rules, format, discovery obligations, evidentiary use, and litigation strategy.
A de-identified example
Counsel needed a statement from a witness to a disputed property incident. The initial report contained only a brief account, the witness preferred Spanish, and the available photographs raised several timing and location questions.
We verified and contacted the witness, arranged a qualified interpreter, explained the voluntary purpose, obtained consent to the chosen format, and conducted a chronological interview. Photographs were introduced neutrally after the witness's initial account; identities, locations, sequence, exact observations, uncertainty, and the interpreter's role were documented. The witness reviewed the translated statement and corrections before signing.
Counsel received the signed statement, interview report, exhibit references, interpreter information, contact history, discrepancies, and limitations. The preserved account helped counsel evaluate follow-up witnesses and case strategy without treating the statement as a legal conclusion or guarantee of admissibility.
Service area and contact
Pinpoint Investigations & Security Corp. serves Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. Call 718-667-6422 to discuss your needs.
Related services: Litigation Support; Accident Investigations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of statements can Pinpoint obtain?
Pinpoint can conduct voluntary witness, employee, claimant, insured, customer, vendor, contractor, and other authorized interviews in written, question-and-answer, audio, or video form. Counsel may also provide a declaration or affidavit format. Acceptance depends on purpose, representation, consent, jurisdiction, safety, language, and the requested use.
What do you need to start?
Usually the objective, witness name and contact leads, event and date, reports or pleadings, photographs or video, timeline, prior statements, known inconsistencies, counsel-approved topics and restrictions, representation concerns, deadline, language or accommodation needs, recording preference, and authorized contacts.
Can you make a witness speak or sign?
No. Participation, recording, review, correction, and signature are voluntary unless counsel obtains proper compulsory process. Pinpoint explains its role, requests cooperation professionally, documents attempts and the witness's response, and does not threaten, coach, promise a result, or misrepresent legal authority.
Can the interview be secretly recorded?
Recording law depends on jurisdiction, participants, location, purpose, privacy, and counsel's instructions. Pinpoint determines the lawful, approved method before the interview and documents consent when required; we do not unlawfully intercept private communications. A written statement remains an option when recording is not appropriate.
What will I receive, and can the investigator testify?
The agreed package may include a signed statement or secure original recording, report, transcript or summary, exhibits, identity and consent details, interpreter information, corrections, contact history, discrepancies, and limitations. Investigator affidavits of investigative facts, depositions, hearings, and trial testimony are available when appropriate.
