What Happens When A Police Report Gets Your Car Wreck Wrong?

In this article, you can discover…

• Types of mistakes that commonly appear in traffic collision reports.
• What to do if you discover inaccurate information in your traffic collision report.
• How a personal injury attorney can help when a report is inaccurate.

What Types Of Mistakes Commonly Appear In Traffic Collision Reports?

Police reports are not infallible documents and are written up by an officer who typically arrives after the collision has happened. The officer puts together their impression of what likely occurred based on third-party accounts, vehicle positions, and damage. For these reasons, mistakes in a traffic collision report can happen. 

Typical mistakes may include inaccuracies with regard to the direction of travel, points of impact, speed, whether or not there were injuries, and witness statements. 

Can An Insurance Company Rely On An Inaccurate Police Report When Evaluating Or Denying A Claim?

While insurance companies should be looking at the totality of circumstances when evaluating a claim, in many cases, they will generally treat the police report’s conclusion as Gospel Truth with regard to what occurred.

For this reason, having inconsistencies in your police report can be very damaging to your case pre-litigation, and any mistakes should be caught and addressed immediately. 

What Should I Do If I Discover Inaccurate Or Incomplete Information In My Traffic Report?

When you discover inaccurate or incomplete information in your traffic report, take note of what is wrong, note and record your position as it contrasts with the report, and begin to seek and preserve any evidence that could disprove what the report is saying. Next, reach out to the investigating officer (whose signature should be on the police report). 

While you may not be able to get the officer to change their position, they can at least take note of what you are saying, review any evidence you have, and add a supplemental report detailing your objections and your recollection of events. 

Attorney Shawn Gozarkhah is an experienced, determined personal injury attorney serving California. Since 2012, he’s been helping clients just like you seek justice and appropriate damages in spite of errors in traffic reports. 

Have questions, or in need of legal guidance after a car wreck? Reach out to The Law Man Group, APC for an initial consultation today.

What Evidence Can Be Used To Challenge Inaccurate Information In A Traffic Collision Report?

Evidence such as surveillance footage, dashcam footage, a witness the police missed, bodycam footage, photos of vehicle damage, and independent measurements can all serve to challenge inaccuracies in a police report. 

One of the biggest and clearest pieces of evidence you can use may be damage to the vehicles involved. To that end, taking photos and video footage immediately after the wreck (if you can safely do so) can be quite helpful, especially if the police report’s eventual conclusion doesn’t align with what you experienced. 

How Can An Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Help Protect My Injury Claim When An Inaccurate Police Report Is Working Against Me?

A good personal injury attorney will dig into the background of the wreck and will understand that the police report is not the entire case. While the police report is important, there is far more that goes into investigating a collision. 

Your attorney can review the report with you and help you highlight any inconsistencies, note your version of events, and include this information and evidence (especially with regard to injuries) as a supplement to the original report. These efforts, especially if they happen quickly, can help you secure justice in spite of any traffic report inaccuracies. 

Still Have Questions? Ready To Get Started?

For more information on police report inaccuracies and car wrecks in California, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (818) 337-5214 today.