Gather Supporting Evidence of Your Accident
If you are in a car accident, you or someone you appoint must follow specific steps. These steps help support your compensation case should you decide to file for compensation due to property damage and injuries.
No two car accidents have the same identical factors and circumstances. You would agree that it shakes everyone involved to the core when you experience a car accident. You can hardly think of what you need to do first after someone crashes into your car.
Depending on the accident’s severity, we realize that it is challenging to think about what to do first. If you review the following steps on occasion and happen to be in a car accident, these steps will be with you and help you along the way. You will have no problem gathering supporting evidence of your accident, should you need evidence in the future to support a compensation case.
These steps include what you need to do directly after a car accident. This information may help you to correct errors in the police report should you find that the police indeed made a statement mistake.
Immediately following your car accident, you need to call 9-1-1 if you are able. You need to request medical assistance. If you are seriously hurt and can do so, you can assign someone to gather the information for you and exchange insurance information.
However, you can assign someone to get as much evidence of your accident as possible. The ideal thing to do is to keep the phone number of your attorney taped to your dashboard. You call your negligent accident attorney after you call 9-1-1. Often, your attorney comes to the accident scene as soon as possible to start their investigation, obtain pictures, and speak with the police and witnesses.
When the police interview you, please tell them what happened and give them only the facts as you see them. You never admit fault or say you are sorry for what happened. Comments such as these tend to make you sound like the guilty party. Never volunteer information. Only answer questions to the point.
Get pictures of the accident scene and all the damage done to your car, or assign someone else to take as many pictures of the accident scene as possible. Your pictures of the accident can often correct a statement error by the police in their report.
Never refuse to be medically checked out by an emergency room doctor. You may not have any apparent injuries at the accident site, but severe injuries can develop days and weeks into the future.
Common Police Errors
Some of the following are simple mistakes made by police officers in their accident reports. These errors may seem petty and insignificant. However, these minor mistakes can differ between receiving a fair compensation settlement or no settlement. In most instances, these mistakes are unintentional errors.
Road conditions
Weather conditions
Date and time of your accident
How fast you were driving
Occupants in your car
Damaged property in your car
The activity of other vehicles
Accident causes
Your feelings directly after the accident
Attitudes of other drivers involved in the accident
Seatbelts
Police Officers are Subject to Errors in Their Reports
Most of us trust the police to get it right, and usually, the police do get their reports right. However, since law enforcement officials are human beings, they are subject to errors in what they say, do, and write in their reports just as much as anyone else.
Police officials are highly trained and skilled in their job. The police are trained to do their best, be accurate, and present accurate reports. However, they are not perfect, and they could make a mistake.
All police officers are susceptible to missing information or unintentionally entering the wrong information in their reports. When an inaccurate police report is filed related to your accident, you have the right to make this report accurate if you have the evidence to support the change.
Whenever you are involved in an accident, and the police write out a report of your accident, you have the right to request a copy of that report to read and review for accuracy. Your attorney and other entities, such as your insurance company will also request a copy of the police report.
If your accident was caused by a negligent person (s), hiring a licensed, experienced, and seasoned negligent accident attorney is vital. Unfortunately, the burden of proof lies on you, the victim, and the seasoned negligent accident attorney you hire.
While you read your police report, you find some mistakes in the report. Never be under the assumption that you cannot do anything to correct these errors. It would be best to hire a skilled, experienced, and seasoned negligent accident/injury/death attorney to help you correct these mistakes as soon as possible.
If your accident case goes to court, all information must be correct, as this report has a significant bearing on your compensation case. This police report helps your attorney as they investigate your accident case. Accuracy and mistakes within a police report affect your insurance settlement.
The following types of car accidents are all brought about through negligent actions that are bound to hurt other people. The types of accidents that a police officer encounters may be complex and complicated, and their report is at risk of unintentional errors.
Distracted driving, such as using a cell phone, texting, or watching a video, is not only dangerous but is against the law in all states.
Speeding
Driving too slow
Reckless Driving
Drunk Driving
Weather Conditions
Reckless Lane Changes
Defects in a Vehicle
Driving on the wrong side of the road
Driving in the wrong direction
Tailgating
Running red lights and stop signs
Falling asleep at the wheel
It’s critically important to pay attention while driving to ensure your and your passengers’ safety. If you are hit by another vehicle in a crash, the first thing to do is call 9-1-1 and seek medical attention right away. Officers responding to the scene will file a crash-site police report.
What Mistakes in a Police Report Affect a Compensation Case?
If you find inaccurate or missing information in a police report, you must try to correct this information as soon as possible. The longer you wait to fix what is wrong in this report, the harder it will be to fix the problematic information.
The following are the most common mistakes found in police reports.
The damage done to your vehicle could be inaccurately written by the police, or the description of the accident may be too vague.
The police report must identify injuries to all individuals involved in your accident. Sometimes these injuries can be inaccurate or incomplete.
The police officer may either fail to enter the report or enter the information incorrectly. This information could include the phone numbers of witnesses, the date and time of the accident, or the precise location.
If you find inaccurate information in your police report, your seasoned negligent accident/injury/death attorney can help you legally correct the missing or wrong information. More often than not, the police will amend existing police reports instead of making a whole new report. The critical factor is to have all your supporting evidence that shows the report is in error. If you cannot support what you are telling the officer, they cannot fix what you believe is incorrect.
The Complexity of Negligent Car Accident Reports
Most car accidents happen because someone is not paying attention or displaying reckless behavior behind the wheel. Were it not for these actions, the accident would never have happened.
Injuries and death due to a car accident are complex. The victim must prove someone was negligent in their actions, causing the accident. Never try to represent yourself after you file for compensation. If everyone, including your insurance company, has an attorney except you, you have a slim chance of winning your case.
Insurance companies do not relish paying out their money to anyone who files for compensation. You must hire a licensed, seasoned, and experienced negligent accident/injury/death attorney to protect your rights and advocate for you in negotiations outside of court or if your case goes to court.
We love to settle these cases out of court. However, if we cannot get you the settlement we feel you deserve, we are prepared to go to court for you.
Your negligent accident attorneys know how to negotiate settlements.
Your attorneys know all the tricks that insurance companies use to keep from paying you the compensation you deserve.
Your attorneys can calculate fair and just compensation.
Your attorney knows how to correct misleading, missing, and inaccurate information in a police report.
Correct Missing or Inaccurate Police Report Information As Soon As Possible
It is your right to dispute statements made in a police report. Statements can come from the police, other drivers, and witnesses at the accident scene.
Sometimes, drivers and witnesses present different takes on your accident. While one person sees your accident one way, you may see the particulars of your accident in another way. Thus, the information does not always jibe. Most times, inaccurate information happens in good faith.
The first step is to ensure that you have the evidence that supports the report’s inaccuracy. If the report says minor injuries and you have a traumatic brain injury, you must have the doctor’s reports in hand to prove that this part of the report is in error.
When you visit the police station and speak with a police officer about your concerns regarding missing or inaccurate information in your police report, it is best to have all the supporting evidence in hand, such as seen in the following.
Medical reports
Photographs
Car title
Car registration
Road conditions
Weather reports
If you start speaking with an officer and show anger or disgust, it rarely gets you the results you need to correct the report. It is vital to remain calm, polite, courteous, and show respect when speaking with an officer. It is best to work with your attorney if you need to correct information in a police report, especially if your car accident was severe and complicated. Be sure to request and obtain the email addresses and names of the officers and get everything in writing.
The Importance of Accurate Police Reports
You need to obtain a copy of your police report regarding your car accident to affirm that everything in that report is spot-on correct.
Accurate police reports become much more critical if there are compensation claims filed. You need as much evidence as possible to support a police report in error if you decide to follow through with a compensation case.
Your compensation claim must be supported by medical records and mounting medical bills. All correct evidence shows how your car accident happened, and your police report should show these factors.
While statements from witnesses and doctor reports are vital to your case, it is the police report that offers the most support. Police reports should be impartial and present the facts as seen through the eyes of the officer. Sometimes, police reports name multiple drivers at fault for an accident. This at-fault percentage may reduce or increase your compensation settlement.
If you have a police report with misinformation, you may have difficulty proving that the report is indeed faulty. It will only be through your evidence supporting what you say as being valid that it has any chance of correcting a police error.
Proving that there are false statements in your police report or missing information is best done by a seasoned attorney. This attorney knows how to get the information you need critical to your compensation case.
When filing a lawsuit to recoup the mounting debt from your car accident, your accident report by the police must be wholly correct and contain all pertinent information. If there happen to be mistakes and errors in this report, this could prevent you from proving your legal case and receiving the settlement you deserve.
Police are Not Doctors
Some police reports can say no apparent injuries to the driver or occupants. However, unseen and more severe injuries sometimes need time to develop.
You could start to develop side effects from your car accident several days, weeks, or months after your accident. If you develop any of the following, your police report is in error it needs correcting.
The police rarely rewrite their reports. However, sometimes the police will add amendments to the report or update the report with current accident information. The most common injuries sustained in a car accident are as follows.
Neck injuries
Closed head injuries
Fractures
Spinal cord injuries
Internal injuries
Damage to joints, tendons, or ligaments
Psychological trauma, such as PTSD
Call for Help with a Police Report Error
Every car accident has different circumstances and levels of injuries. We have represented all types of negligent car accidents causing injury or death to the drivers. We are here to help you with your compensation case, starting with an accurate police report to support what happened to you during your car accident.
We are seasoned, experienced, and licensed attorneys who serve the communities of Foley, Mobile, Daphne, and surrounding areas of Alabama.
We would like to hear your story and the facts as you see them regarding your car accident. We can give you help with accident claims.
You are entitled to any and all documents about your car accident. However, some clients tell us that they had difficulty obtaining this paperwork. We know how to get all the supporting evidence for your compensation case for you to review.
If you have a copy of the police report and notice that some vital information is missing or in error, we can help you. It is unfair to allow a negligent driver to walk away, leaving you with injuries and mounting debt. This person will likely cause another accident if not stopped.
We have an impressive track record of winning compensation cases for our clients involved in a car accident that someone else caused. We support you and fight for your rights to fair and equitable compensation.
We seek justice for the guilty person through aggressive litigation with insurance companies and other attorneys. We cannot work for you until you give us the first no-fee consultation call. There are no obligations, and if you hire us, we will work tirelessly for you and your family to get you the settlement you deserve.
Time is of the essence because you have only two years to file for compensation from the date of your car accident. After this time passes, you will not be able to file for a settlement.
The following is a brief summary of some of the more common and minor mistakes made in police reports involved,
Contact information for witnesses
The time, date, or location of the accident
Explaining the total damage to vehicles
Explaining the accident victim’s injuries
When dealing with law enforcement officials, always be courteous. Provide the necessary documentation needed and supporting evidence. Request corrections to the police report as soon as possible after you discover the error (s).
If you have all the supporting evidence with you, sometimes the police do not want to make the necessary corrections, so you need us on board. We know how to handle the police, insurance companies, and other attorneys involved with your settlement case. We work hard to protect your victim’s rights and we advocate for a fair and decent settlement.
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