If you have been involved in a car accident and you disagree with the accident report, you can always dispute those findings. Accident reports contain a lot of information.
A report will list the people involved, witnesses and their statements, details about vehicle damage, have notes about road debris, explain the position of the vehicles, describe the accident, have diagrams of the crash scene, and give preliminary details about who is at fault for the crash. Because it contains so many details, it should not be of any surprise that the accident report has a significant role when the insurance adjuster reviews a claim involving property damage or injuries after a crash. If you believe the accident report has inaccuracies or has information that is incomplete, you might be able to have the report corrected or have an addendum to the report.
The dispute process differs for different mistakes your report might contain. Here are the two different kinds of mistakes that you might uncover in the report and how to have those issues corrected:
- Correcting errors regarding the facts – If there are some specifics in the report that are wrong, such as the color of your vehicle, the location of the crash, or insurance details, provide documentation that supports the facts, so an amendment or correction can be made.
- Changing information that is disputable – If you just don’t agree with some details in the accident report, such as the officer believing you violated a traffic law or a witness’s account of what happened, you will have trouble getting the change to the report made. Often, the only remedy is for you to write up your account of what happened, and it might be added as a supplement to the accident report, but that is at the police department’s discretion.
If you have been involved in an auto accident, and you need to have some details in that report changed because of errors, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer. An attorney can improve your odds of a successful claim and will work to help you gather sufficient evidence to support your version of the accident report.
Importance of a Police Report
Police reports are routinely compiled at the scene of any serious accident, especially if there has been an injury reported. There are many good reasons why you should make sure you get a copy of the police report after an accident.
- Police reports carry much more authority than, say, an eyewitness report. Insurers will tend to take much more notice of a police report.
- Police reports are usually very detailed. They provide information about the people involved, the location, date and time of the accident, the vehicles, what led to the accident, injuries sustained, any other pertinent information;
- The report should include a description of the damage that has been done to both vehicles;
- There may be details of any eyewitnesses who saw the accident happen.
It is rare for a police report to state directly who caused an accident. That means that you cannot rely totally on the report for your accident claim, but it is still an important part of the evidence that you can provide when you submit the claim to the at-fault driver’s insurer.
Police reports may be the only important piece of evidence available indicating how an accident happened if your injuries were so severe that you were incapable of doing anything proactively at the crash site, e.g. take photos, jot down eye witness contact details etc.
If your injuries were serious, you may only be able to hang on until an ambulance arrives and may even have no recollection of the accident at all.
You may need to contact the police station where the officers who attended the crash site were based as you are unlikely to be given a copy of the report on the spot. If you don’t know how to get a copy of the report, your PI attorney may be able to secure it for you.
Things to Remember
Don’t rely entirely on a police report. It is an important and authoritative piece of evidence that you can use to help support your claim, but it is unlikely that it will impress the insurer enough all by itself.
You will need a variety of documentary evidence to help you with your claim for adequate and fair compensation. Some examples of other documentation you should provide in addition to the police report include:
- eye witness statements;
- photographic evidence taken at the site;
- video footage if it was available, e.g. from a nearby surveillance or security camera;
- doctor’s report;
- any other medical reports about your injury;
- evidence of all costs associated with your injury including medical treatment and los earnings.
- future estimated costs if the injury is likely to last a long time or you have been permanently disabled.
Be aware that there is a statute of limitations in force in each state that regulates how long any accident victim has before a personal injury claim can be submitted. It is usually within two or three years from the date of the accident although often much less if the at-fault party is a government entity.
It is advisable to use an experienced personal injury attorney throughout the claim procedure.
Consult With a Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been involved in an auto accident, personal injury claims can be challenging. You should consult with a personal injury attorney about your case. If you have encountered problems with the accident report details, or if you have problems with your claim being approved, you should not try to handle the situation alone.
A personal injury lawyer will gather up the evidence needed to support your claim. With a lawyer, your odds of a successful claim increase significantly. Complete the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page to have your details shared with an attorney in your area. A lawyer will then review the details of your case and determine the best way to proceed with your specific accident situation.
