The Role Of Police Reports In Personal Injury Cases

What’s The Purpose Of A Police Report?

The purpose of a police report covers many areas, including the following.

States Facts

It’s not uncommon for people involved in an accident to have different narratives. While you may be sure the other party made a mistake that caused your injury, they may believe you played a part in the incident. For this reason, it’s crucial to have a police officer come to the scene to create an unbiased report. 

The officer will gather crucial details by looking at the scene, obtaining statements from you and the other party, and collecting vital information from witnesses.

Police officers are trained in observing situations. Thus, their report will be crucial in establishing facts surrounding the accident.

Determines Liability

Attorneys and insurance adjusters can use the information a police report offers to determine liability in a personal injury case. For example, by assessing the details in a police report regarding the position of vehicles and the information provided by witnesses, they can identify the at-fault driver.

Determining liability can significantly impact compensation. When experts establish a link between the causation of the accident and the damages sustained from a police report, a victim can confidently claim fair compensation.

Protects Your Eligibility For Filing A Claim

All motor vehicle accidents in Colorado must be reported to the police. Thus, not reporting a crash may harm your ability to file a lawsuit when you want to. Having a police report means you have met the legal requirements for filing a claim in Colorado.

Prevents Changes To Stories

Parties involved in an accident can change their stories later. For example, one may state they misspoke when talking to the police at the scene. Hence, they would like to change their statement. Without a police report, parties would have been able to change stories as much as they wanted, making cases more complicated. Fortunately, when you file a police report, you protect your case against changes to stories. The CDOR maintains accident information for seven years.

However, a police report may contain inaccurate information. Due to the confusion one experiences after a traumatic event, one may provide incorrect information to the police. If this happens, one can request that the police report be amended. However, law enforcement is typically strict about making changes. One may need to go through legal proceedings to do this.

Serves As Evidence

A personal injury case can be settled outside of court, but some go to trial. In a settlement, the report can be used to determine liability, allowing the case to be settled earlier as opposed to if a report was unavailable.

If a case goes to court — perhaps an involved party was not satisfied with the settlement — the police report can be beneficial. Although it may not be admissible in court as evidence, it can be used to build a complete picture of what happened. Besides, the police officer who wrote the report and witnesses included in it can testify during trial.

Filing A Report Online

If an officer does not come to the scene of an accident, you can report the case online. Since you will be filing the report by yourself (the matter won’t be investigated by an officer), it will not be an official police report, but it will be kept for record purposes. 

You can also report an accident via mail, in which case you will download and mail your report to the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles.

Note that your case must meet the requirements of those that can be reported online. These include:

• The accident should not have resulted in a fatality or injury that required medical attention.
• It should not be a hit-and-run; if it was, you don’t have any information about the other driver.
• The accident should not have caused damage to any public property other than wildlife.
• No driver involved in the accident should be suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

If your case does not meet these requirements, yet an officer was not present at the scene, contact the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the accident occurred for further instructions. 

Since reporting online or by mail creates an unofficial report, it will be wise to report any severe accident to law enforcement if they don’t respond to the scene. A personal injury lawyer in Colorado  can also help you to make the right call.

When To File A Police Report

You should never leave an accident scene without reporting it, as this may attract other legal troubles. However, you have 60 days to report an accident not investigated by a law enforcement officer. 

How We Can Help You

Filing a police report is integral to receiving just compensation. You need to be adequately informed about this report to avoid costly mistakes. Contact our personal injury lawyers today to help you report the accident using appropriate avenues, protecting your eligibility for filing a claim. 

Sources:

Obtaining Accident Reports or Ticket Information.

Report an Accident.

The Role of Police Reports in Personal Injury Investigations.