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It’s important to make sure that you have a record of the accident if you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle accident. It’s crucial that you call the police even if you don’t notice any major injuries or property damage. What can appear to be very minor at first; can be something more serious without you realizing it.
Who Caused the Accident?
If someone is guilty of causing an accident, there’s a good chance that person will not willingly acknowledge that they’re the guilty party. When you make a proper police report, the police will make an initial determination of fault and thus, will be useful when you file a claim. This prevents a he /she said sort of situation where both the plaintiff and the defendant have their own view of what happened during the accident.
Having an experienced third party looking into the accident is crucial. Police have experience gathering and analyzing information from an accident scene to better understand who was responsible for the crash. Determination of fault is not ultimately decided only on the police report of the incident. It will, however, offer valuable support to your case if you’re the plaintiff and if the other driver was at fault for the accident. A police report can prove that you’re the wronged party.
Understanding Statute of Limitations
In every personal injury lawsuit, there are certain time frames which you can file a lawsuit for damages. This is called the statute of limitations. The legal system likely won’t exclusively accept the word of the plaintiff or the defendant as to when the accident occurred. This is another reason why it’s important to file a police report. Police reports establish the date of the accident in such a way that it can’t be disputed. It also helps you, as the plaintiff, keep track of the dates and make sure you file a claim before the statute of limitations occurs.
Should a claim go to trial or even mediation, the police record of accident details will provide useful legal information, such as who was involved in the accident, what happened and if there were any witnesses? Contact information of all parties is included in the report including those of the witnesses. The names and contact information in the police accident report will be handy if you or your lawyer ever needs this information in the future. As the innocent party, a police report can make you more confident that you won’t be blamed for an accident that wasn’t your fault.
Challenges with Police Reports
Police reports are very useful and can make the process of making a claim much easier. They are not, however, the magic pill to making a personal injury claim or vehicle accident claim legally bullet proof. There may be times that police reports include inaccurate information. Sometimes they can be vague because there wasn’t enough information to make a proper police report, or through police error where the offer didn’t get the information they should have collected.